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PROCEEDINGS 



Boston Society of Civil Engineers. 



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(ORGANIZED JULY 3, 1848.) 



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2(d U-H 
i- £81^1890 



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MBER, 1819, TO JIE, 1881, 



BOSTON : 

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIKTY. 

1881. 



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isr O T K . 



This Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinions advanced in any of its publications. 



I N D K X . 



Adams, Edward P., Graphic Trigonometer 79 

Additional Width of Gauge on Railroad Curves 88 

Amendments to By-Laws 78, 79, 94, 103 

American Engineer, Communication from, in Relation to the Publication of 

Proceedings ... . . . 84 

American Society of Civil Engineers, Invitation to the 12th Convention . 55 
Andrews, David H., Elected Member .....'. 135, 139 
Annales des Ponts et Chaussees, Reports from .... 17,82,87,139 

Annual Reports of the Government 53,123,124 

AsPiNWALL, Thomas, Elected Member 27, 53 

Assessments levied .......... 53, 123 

Association of Engineering Societies, Articles of Association ... 92 

Back Bay Park, Boston 126 

Blodgett, George W., Production and Transmission of Power by Elec- 
tricity . 27 

Railroad Signals 104 

BowDiTCH, Ernest W., Sanitary Matters 79, 139 

Brackett, Dexter, Brighton Temporary High Service Works . . 7 

Bradley, William H., Appointed Auditor 53, 123 

Bray, Prof. Charles D., Elected Member 7, 13 

Bridge, Charles River 56 

Claix 17 

Fall River ' 95 

Groveland 99 

Over the Grand River 81 

" River Volga 81 

Severn 15 

Brighton Temporary High Service Works ; 7 

Brooks, Frederick, Government Improvements at Horse Tail Bar . 75 

Hudson River Tunnel 78 

Elected Librarian 53,123 

Carson, Howard A., Methods of Excavation for Deep Trenches . . 11 

Charles River Bridge 56 

Claix Bridge 17 

Clarke, Eliot C, Main Drainage Works at Boston .... 37 

Shaft of Second Lake Tunnel at Chicago ... 24 



IV 

Committee on Class List of Books in the Public Library . , . 13, 19, 53 

Communication from Wm. E. Pettee 78, 91 

Joint Publication of Proceedings 78, 83 

Metric System 20, 27, 53, 103, 109, 123 

Committee to nominate a Secretary . 78, 55 

receive M. De Lesseps 37 

revise Constitution 2 

Constitution, Amendments adopted 4, 7 

Crafts, N. Henry, Elected Member 80, 84 

Danforth, J. H., Elected Member 139, 140 

Davis, Joseph P., Discussion on Main Drainage Works at Boston . . 48 

Elected President 53 

Resignation as President 78 

Shone's Pneumatic Sewerage System .... 1 

DoANE, Thomas, Additional Width of Gauge 88 

Northern Pacific Railroad 63 

Elected President . 79, 123 

Election of OflScers for 1880-81 53 

1881-82 .123 

Electricity, Production and Transmission of Power by .... 27 

Engineering, Reports from 14, 81 

Engineering News, Reports from 101 

Excavation for Deep Trenches . . . 11 

Eall River Bridge 95 

EoLSOM, Charles W., Elected Member of Committee on Pub. Library . 53 

Laying out Lawrence, Mass 138 

Freeman, John R., Elected Member 84, 95 

Erost, George H., Vote of Thanks to 55 

Fteley, a., Charles River Bridge 56 

Funds of Society, Investment of 84, 103 

Glass Sleepers . 16 

Groveland Bridge 99 

Hodges, Osgood, Remarks on his Death . 80 

HoLBROOK, F. W. D., Snow Fences used on Northern Pacific R. R. . . 27 

Horse Tail Bar, Improvements at 75 

Howe, Edward W., Back Bay Park, Boston 126 

Old Mill Dam Wall 87 

Elected Secretary pro tern 140 

HowLAND, Albert H., Extra Strains in Portal Bracing .... 138 

Groveland Bridge 99 

Hudson River Tunnel . 78 

Indian Engineering, Professional Papers on ..... . 139 



V 

Johnson, Daniel H., Elected Member 13, 24 

Joint Publication of Proceedings, Report of Committee .... 83 

Articles of Association . . . . 92, 94 

Jones, J. Edwin., Elected Member 4, 7 

Journal of Eranklin Institute, Reports from 61 

Lawrence, Mass., Laying out of 138 

Leavitt, E. D., Jr., Elected Member 13, 24 

Library, Circulation of Books of 63, 79, 84 

Llandulas Viaduct 14 

LuNT, Clarence W., Elected Member of Metric Committee ... 53 

Main Drainage Works at Boston 37 

Manlet, Henry, Elected Treasurer 53, 123 

McClintock, William E., Elected Member . . . . . . 80, 84 

Metric System, Reports of Committee on 20, 109 

Miner, Franklin M., Elected Member . . . . . . 123, 135 

Mitchell, Prop. Henry, Discussion on Uniformity in Datum Planes, 137 

Northern Pacific Railroad, and its Territory 63 

Note to be printed with all Future Publications 103 

Notices of Meetings 1, 4, 7, 13, 19, 27, 77, 83 

Old MiU Dam Wall . 87 

Parsons, Charles S., Elected Member . . . . . . . 53, 56 

Pettee, William E., Communication from 63, 78, 91 

Philbrick, Edward S., Discussion on Main Drainage Works at Boston, 47 

Elected Vice-President . . . . 53, 123 

Phinney, H. W. B., Elected Member 1, 4 

Price of Proceedings 135 

Prize offered by the King of the Belgians 27 

Prize for Best Papers read 53, 78, 123 

Proceedings ordered to be printed . . 6, 53, 123 

Railroad Signals 104 

Record of Meetings. 1, 4, 7, 13, 23, 27, 37, 53, 55, 61, 63, 77, 79, 84, 91, 103, 123, 

135, 139, 140 

Rice, George S., Elected Secretary 53 

Resignation as Secretary 55 

Rock blasting and Machine drilling 32 

Roof of Madison Square Garden 61 

Rules for Circulation of Library Books 61, 79, 84 

Saville, George G., Proposed for Membership 140 

Seal adopted by the Society 94 

Severn Bridge 15 

Shaft of Second Lake Tunnel, Chicago 24 

Shaw, Edward S., Elected Member 95, 103 



VI 

Sheeting and bracing Sewer Trenches 140 

Shone's Pneumatic Sewerage System 1 

Snow Fences on Northern Pacific Kailroad 27 

Steel Rails, Duration of 82 

Subscription to l^eriodicals authorized 7, 13, 24, 84, 94 

Swiss Triangulation 82 

Testing Machine at Watertown, Excursion to 12,13 

TiNKHAM, S. Everett, Udected Secretary 55, 78, 123 

Elected Manager of Ass'n of Eng'n Societies . 94 

Treasurer authorized to deposit Eunds of Society 55 

Turner, E. K,, Elected Member of Com. on Preservation of Timber . 139 

Uniformity in Datum Planes . . 80, 135 

Van Nostrand's Magazine, Eeports from 13,61,101 

Whittaker, William, Rock blasting and Machine drilling ... 32 

Sheeting and bracing Sewer Trenches . . .140 

Win SLOW, Ephraim N., Fall River Bridge 95 

Memoir of , , .• 85 



ERRATA. 

Page 9, line 31, for " Fig. 1 " read Fig. 2. 
" 9, " 32, for "Fig. 2 " read Fig. 1. 
" 11, " 18, for "safety valve" read check valve. 
" 13. " 24, for " Chas. 0. Bray " read Chas. D. Bray. 
" 66, '* 28, for " Kalamal " read Kalama. 
"116, " 4l,iov'*{^V" xe&df^. 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



74 Tremont St., Boston", Oct. 13, 1879. 

Bear Sir, — A meeting of the society will be held in Wesleyan 
Hall, Bo'ston, Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 7 1-2 o'clock, p. m., and it is 
expected that the committee appointed to revise the Constitution will 
present its report as given below. 

GEORGE S. RICE, Secretary. 



(RECORD OF SEPTEMBER, 1879, MEETING.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Sept. 17, 1879. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Yice-Presideut Joseph P. Davis in the chair, and 
eleven members present (Blodgett, Brooks, Crafts, French, Grant, 
Howland, Jackson, Kettell, Geo. S. Rice, L. Fred'k Rice, Sampson). 

Mr. H. W. B. Phinney was proposed for membership by Messrs. A. 
H. French and Geo. W. Blodgett. 

Mr. Joseph P. Davis brought to the attention of the society, Isaac 
Shone's Pneumatic Sewerage system, which consists of the use of com- 
pressed air for raising the sewage of limited districts, by means of a 
self-acting machine called an " ejector," to the level of the street sew- 
ers. For instance, a city having been divided into districts, each district 
would be supplied with an " ejector," placed in the most convenient 
location for connecting directly with the houses. When the " ejector" 
is full a valve is tripped, supplying compressed air, thereby discharg- 
ing the sewage into the street sewers. 

All the " ejectors" are connected with a central station for com- 
pressing air. Mr. Shone proposes to separate the rain water from the 
house drainage, thereby rendering the sewage more valuable as it is 
more regular, in quantity and quality. The system is particularly ap- 
pUcable to low-lying and flat districts, as the street sewers can be 
placed very near the surface. 

Among other advantages the inventor claims that the houses are 
effectually severed from the main sewers, thereby preventing any 
trouble with sewer gas; also that good gradients can be obtained for 
house drains in all cases. This machine has been used on a farm in 
Wrexham, England, for a considerable time, and without failure of 
action. Incidental to this, Mr. Davis explained Mr. Joseph P. Frizells' 
proposed method of pumping the sewage of Boston, by using the rise 
and fall of the tide for obtaining compressed air. 

[Adjourned.^ 



To the Boston Society of Civil Engineers : — 

The committee appointed to revise tlie Constitution present the 
following 

REPOKT. 

The committee have communicated with other societies, and have 
received copies of their laws and suggestions from their officers ; they 
also issued a circular to the members of this society, inviting sugges- 
tions, to which they have received a few replies. 

After carefully considering all the various suggestions, the com- 
mittee unanimously agree to the following : — 

It is inexpedient to introduce letter balloting. 

As to printing and distribution of reports, etc., it is not expe- 
dient to introduce a By-Law regulating the matter ; but as a sum 
of $200 has already been voted by the society, any desired action 
can be accomplished by a vote of the society at any meeting. The 
committee believe and recommend that the Secretary should be 
instructed to issue with the notices of a meeting an abstract of the 
proceedings of the previous meeting, and a memorandum of any pro- 
posed action or subject of discussion at the coming one. 

While regretting the lack of interest in the Library, and thinking 
that provisions for making it more useful might be suggested, the com- 
mittee would not recommend any changes in the By-Laws until the 
treasury of the society will allow of considerable annual expense in 
this direction. 

Upon other suggestions, the committee recommend the following 
alterations in the present By-Laws. 

Make first twenty-one articles " Constitution," all following articles 
"By-Laws." 

Between Articles 10 and 11 insert: At every meeting the Secretary 
shall have a list of members entitled to vote, Avhich list shall not be 
altered during the meeting, and shall be used in voting if demanded by 
one fifth of the members present. 

Amend Article 11 as follows: The name of any candidate for 
membership shall be proposed in writing by two members of the 
society, who mention the length of his professional experience, and 
state that they personally know him and recommend his election, all 
of which shall be announced by the Secretary one month before he is 
balloted for. 

Omit the present Article 14. 

In the present Article 15, strike out " Corresponding and Honorary 
members " (in third line), and insert " They." 

Substitute Article 16: During residence fifty miles or more from 



Boston, any member whose dues have been fully paid, may, upon no- 
tice to the Secretary in writing, retain his membership by the payment 
of two dollars per year, payable at the annual meeting, and be 
exempted from any farther assessment. 

Substitute Article 17: Any member whose dues have been fully 
paid, may withdraw from the society by notifying the Secretary. 

Substitute Article 18: Any member who does not pay his assess- 
ment within eleven months after it is levied, shall cease to be a mem- 
ber, and the Secretary shall erase his name from the list of members, 
but his debt to the society shall not thereby be discharged. 

Insert before Article 21, Article — : No proposition which includes 
the society's indorsement shall be passed, except in the same manner 
as prescribed for amendments to the Constitution; and any such 
indorsement shall be accompanied by a statement of the number of 
yeas, of nays, and of those absent or not voting. 

Amend Article 21, by striking out " this or any preceding article of 
these By-Laws," and inserting "the Constitution*'; also substituting 
" By-Laws " for "Articles " in sixth line from top, page 8. 

Renumber Articles — , making Article 22 By-Law 1. 

Between Articles 24 and 25 insert By-Law 4 : At the annual meet- 
ing any existing special committees shall expire, unless continued by 
vote of the society. 

Insert By-Law 5: Ten months after an assessment is levied, the 
Secretarj^ shall send the following notice to any members who have 
not paid the same nor been exempted from payment : — 

" Dear Sir, — In conformity to the By-Laws, I am obliged to 
notify you that your name will be stricken from the list of members 
of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers one month hence, unless 
your assessment shall be previously paid." 

W. H. BEADLEY, 

ALBERT 11. HOWLAN^D, 

FRED. BROOKS, 

Committee. 
Oct. 11, 1879. 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



74 Tremont St., Boston, Nov. 17, 1879. 

Dear jSir, — A meeting of the society will be held in Weslejan 
Hall, Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 1-2 o'clock, p. m., and it 
is expected that Mr. D. Brackett will say something concerning 
the Brighton High Service System, and Mr. H. A. Carson will 
make a communication with reference to the comparative cost of 
excavation in sewer trenches. 

The following additi(m to the present Article 21 will be consid- 
ered at this meeting : " And any such indorsement shall be accom- 
panied by a statement of the mimber of yeas, of na3^s, and of those 

absent or not votins;." 

GEORGE S. RICE, Secretary. 



"&' 



(EECOED OF OCTOBER, 1879, MEETING.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Oct. 15, 1879. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers 
was held this evening, Vice-President Joseph P. Davis in the 
chair, and twenty members present (Blodgett, Bradley, Brooks, 
Carson, Cheney, Crafts, Eaton, A. W. Forbes, Herschel, Howe, 
Learned, Mauley, G. S. Rice, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Shepard, 
Tinkham, Tucker, Watson, Whitne}^). 

The record of the preceding meeting was accepted. 

Mr. H. W. B. Phinney was elected a member of the societ3% and 
Mr. J. Edwin Jones was proposed for membership by Messrs. 
Henry Mauley and A. W. Forbes. 

The report of the Committee on Revision of Constitution was 

accepted, and the Constitution was amended as follows, preamble 

to read : — 

PREAMBLE. 

The members of the Boston Societ}^ of Civil Engineers, in accord- 
ance with their charter and for the more effectual execution of the 
design of their Institution, establish and ordain the following Con- 
stitution and By-Laws for the government of said societ}^ : — 



Between Articles 10 and 11, the following was inserted : — 
Art. . At every meeting the Secretary shall have a list of 
members entitled to A^ote, which list shall not be altered during 
the meeting and shall be used in voting if demanded b}^ one fifth 
of the members present. 

Art 1 1 amended as follows : The name of anj^ candidate for 
membership shall be proposed in writing by two members of the 
societj^ stating the length of his professional experience, and that 
thej^ personall}^ know him and recommend his election, all of which 
shall be announced by the Secretary one month before he is bal- 
loted for. 

The present Article 14 was omitted. 

Art. 15 to read : — 

Art. 15. Honorary members, having been nominated as required 
in Art. 11, may be elected by a unanimous vote. Thej^ shall be 
subject to no fees or assessments. They may attend any meetings 
of the Society, but shall not be entitled to vote. 

The following were substituted for Articles 16, 17 and 18 : — 

Art. 16. During residence fifty miles or more from Boston, any 
member whose dues have been fully paid, may, upon notice to the 
Secretary in writing, retain his membership by the payment of $2 
per year, paj^able at the annual meeting, and be exempted from 
any other assessment. 

Art. 17. Any member whose dues have been fully paid, may 
withdraw from the Society by notifying the Secretarj^ 

Art. 18. Any member who does not pay his assesment within 
eleven months after it is levied, shall cease to be a member, but 
his debt to the Society shall not thereby be discharged. 

Insert before Article 21, Article . No proposition which in- 
cludes the Society's indorsement shall be passed, except in the 
same manner as prescribed for amendments to the Constitution. 

Article 21 to read : — 

Art. 21. Any amendment to the Constitution ma}^ be made by 
a two thirds vote passed in its favor at each of two successive reg- 
ular meetings, or by the assent, in writing, of two thirds of the 
whole number of immediate members signified to the Secretar}^ 
within one month preceding a regular meeting, and announced and 
recorded b}' him at that meeting. Amendments may be made to 
the following Bj^-Laws b}^ a two-thirds vote at any regular meeting. 



providing the}^ have been proposed in writing at the previous 
regular meeting. 

The first twent3^-one articles to be the " Constitution," and all 
following articles " B3-Laws," making the present Art. 22 By-Law 1 . 

The following were made By-Laws 4 and 5, having been inserted 
between By-Laws 24 and 25 : — 

By-Law 4. At the annual meeting any existing special commit- 
tees shall expire, unless continued b}^ vote of the societ3% 

By-Lavt 5. Ten months after an assessment is levied, the Secre- 
tary^ shall send the following notice to an}^ members who have not 
paid the same nor been exempted from pa^^ment : — 

Dear Sir, — In conformit}'^ with the By-Laws, I am obliged to 
notify 3^ou that ^^our name will be stricken from the list of members 
of the Boston Societ}^ of Civil Engineers one month hence, unless 
j-our assessment shall be previously paid." 

By a vote of the society", the Secretary was instructed to issue 
with the notices of a meeting' an abstract of the proceedings of the 
previous meeting, and a memorandum of any proposed action or 
subject of discussion at the coming one. 

[^Adj owned. 1 




BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



74 Tremont Steeet, Boston, Dec, 15, 1879. 

A meeting of the society will be held in Wesle3'an Hall, Boston, 
Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 7 1-2 o'clock, p. m., and reports on matters of 
interest in the magazines taken by the society will be made. 

GEORGE S. RICE, Secretary. 

(RECORD OF JS'OYEMBER, 1879, MEETING.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Nov. 19, 1879. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Yice-President Joseph P. Davis in the chair, and 
twenty-five members present (Brackett, Bradley, Brooks, Cabot, 
Carson, Cheney, Crafts, FitzGerald, A. W. Eorbes, French, Fuller, 
Herschel, Howe, Howland, Kimball, Kettell, Manley, May, Noyes, 
Phinney, L. F. Rice, G. S. Rice, Sampson, Shepard, Whitney). 

The record of the preceding meeting was accepted and the Con- 
stitution was amended as printed in the records of the last (Oct. 15, 
1879) meeting. 

The government was authorized to print a catalogue of books 
belonging to the society, a list of members and the new Constitution 
and By-Laws; also, to renew the subscriptions for the foreign peri- 
odicals. 

Mr. J. Edwin Jones was elected a member of the societ}', and 
Prof. Chas. D. Bray was proposed for membership by Messrs. C. 
Herschel and Geo. A. Kimball. 

Mr. Dexter Brackett read the following paper concerning the Bos- 
ton Water Works : — 

DESCRIPTION OF THE BRIGHTON TEMPORARY HIGH SERVICE 

WORKS. 

These works, which were built in 1876 to supply the higher portions 
of the Brighton District, are worthy of notice, not on account of 
their masrnitude, but on account of some details of construction. 

The pumping machinery consists of two Worthington duplex high- 
pressure pumps, each having a capacity of 250,000 gallons in twenty- 
four hours. This rate can be doubled in case of emergency. The 
reservoir, oi tank, situated about a mile distant from the pumping 
station, is about twenty-nine feet square, and has a capacity of about 

(7) 



8 



£ nri 




Fig. 1. Elevation of Apparatus at Reservoir. 




Fig. 2. Plan of Apparatus at Reservoir. 
(Upper guide plate and rod removed.) 



40,000 gallons. Its foundation is concrete, resting upon rock and 
hard pan. The side walls are ten feet high, live feet thick at bottom, 
two feet thick at top> built of rubble-stone laid in cement. The sides 
and bottom of the reservoir are lined with a four-inch course of brick- 
work which is covered with a thin coating of Portland cement. This 
coating was added after the completion of the reservoir, as without 
it there was found to be a slisfht leakage. The reservoir is almost 
entirely above the level of the surrounding ground, and the only pre- 
caution taken to prevent the freezing of the water was by forming 
an air space between the wooden roof, with which it is covered, and 
sheathing on the under side of timbers placed across the reservoir at 
the top of the side walls. This has been effectual. 

On account of the small capacity of the reservoir, it is absolutely 
essential that the engineer at the pumping station should at all times 
be informed as to the depth of the water in the reservoir, and as the 
high service supply is drawn from the force main between the engine 
house and the reservoir, a pressure gauge attached to the force main 
could not be used for this purpose. 

The result has, however, been attained by means of an electric 
indicator, designed and patented by Thos. Hall, an electrician of this 
city. It consists of an apparatus at the reservoir, and an indicator at 
the engine house, which shows at all times the height of the water 
in the reservoir. The apparatus at the reservoir, shown on Tigs. 1 
and 2, consists of a horseshoe magnet attached at right angles to 
the bar A, and free to swing between the armatures B and C. A 
vertical brass rod, D, having projecting pins placed three inches apart, 
passes through the guides, E E, and is upheld by a copper ball float 
placed in the reservoir. 

When the water falls, the projecting pins upon the rod D strike the 
bar. A, and the magnet is swung over the armature, B, as shown on 
Eig. 1. The attraction of the magnet raises the armature, from the 
position shown on Eig. 2, against the point E, and thus closes the 
circuit through the cups, G Gr. 

The water continuing to fall, the bar A is released, the magnet falls 
back to a perpendicular position, and the circuit is broken. The 
water rising swings the magnet in the opposite direction over the 
armature C, which, being attracted, closes another circuit through 
the cups H H. When the magnet is released, it is prevented from 
swinging over the opposite armature by the attraction of the iron bar 
K, which is placed midway between the two armatures. At the 
engine house is the indicator, a rear view of the mechanism of which 
is iThown on Eig. 3. It consists of two electro-magnets A and B, which, 
by means of the armatures C C, armature lever D and slide E, revolve 
in either direction the toothed wheel E, to the spindle of which is 



10 



attached the indicating hand. When the circuit is closed at the reser- 
voir by the falling of the water surface, the armature C is drawn 




LtvcT* deprcsssot. lever Tiisei. 



Fig. 3. Indicatok Mechantsm. 

against the electro-magnet A, throwing the latch G against a tooth 
of the wheel F, thus moving the wheel and indicating by the hand 
on the dial a fall of three inches at the reservoir; when the circuit is 
broken the armature being released is drawn up by the spring K into 
the position shown in the figure. When the water rises the wheel is 
moved in the opposite direction by means of the armature lever D. 
The end of this lever is toothed, the faces of the teeth being inclined 
planes, as shown by the enlarged sections on Fig. 3. The armature 
lever D also acts as a ratchet to hold the wheel F in position. The 
indicator has now been in constant use for three years, and has given 
complete satisfaction. 

When the works were built, the reservoir was not located at as high 
an elevation as was desired, but as it was supposed that the works 



11 

would be abandoned within four or five years, it was not deemed 
advisable to purchase land for the reservoir at a greater elevation. 
On account of the inefficient supply caused by the low grade of the 
reservoir, and the probability that the works would be maintained 
for some years, an experiment was tried the past summer for the pur- 
pose of furnishing a supply for the buildings above the level of the 
reservoir. 

The experiment, which has been entirely successful, consisted in 
the introduction of a check valve, with a safety valve by-pass on the 
force main, which is also the supply main, just outside of the reser- 
voir. This check valve consists of a cast-iron chamber containing: a 
flap valve ; the shaft upon which this valve is fixed passes through 
the side of the valve casing, and has attached a weighted arm to 
counterbalance the weight of the valve. The by-pass is a six-inch 
pipe which passes around the check valve and contains a safety valve. 
The pressure of twenty pounds required to open the safety valve is 
regulated by a weight upon a lever attached to the safety-valve stem. 
When the pumps are in motion, the safety valve remains closed, and 
the surplus water not used by the consumers passes through the by- 
pass and safety valve into the reservoir, and the pressure in the 
mains is increased twenty pounds over the reservoir head. When the 
pumps are stopped, or when from any cause the draught upon the 
mains is in excess of the pumping capacity, tlie pressure falls, the 
check valve opens, and a supply is furnished from the reservoir. 

The high pressure, or increased head, is furnished during the day 
hours, and during the night the supply is drawn from the reservoir. 
The check valve was designed and furnished by H. E,. Worthington, 
of ]New York. 

The cost of the works, exclusive of the street mains, was $7,745, 
divided as follows, — engine house, pump foundations and chimneys, 
$2,350, pumps and boilers |2,400, reservoir $2,750, electric indicator, 
including wires, $245. 

Mr. Howard A. Carson supplemented a paper read before the 
society three years ago by some additional facts concerning various 
methods of excavation for deep trenches. The most common method 
in America is still that of " staging," and in Europe it is almost the 
only one. Where hoisting machinery is used, the work is still begun 
by shovellers. For these reasons it would be interesting to fix on a 
standard day's work for one man in shovelling, — say common sand, 
and measured by foot pounds. Byrne says a man hoisting a weight 
by means of a winch, and working eight or ten hours per day, can 
accomplish per minute 2,600 foot pounds. A man working a tread- 
mill, 3,900; a man pushing horizontally, 3,120; showing a man-power 
to be, for these sorts of work, about one tenth a horse-power. 



12 

English contractors considered twenty yards of common sand per 
day, shovelled into wheelbarrows near by, a fair day's work. Esti- 
mating the work of getting the sand into the shovel equal to that of 
lifting, and discharging it, and including both, gives only 324 foot 
pounds per minute, about one tenth that above. American contrac- 
tors expect about the same amount shovelled into carts, giving about 
567 foot pounds per minute. The inference from these and other 
examples given was great loss of time in most existing arrangements, 
waiting for wheelbarrows, carts, etc. 

In the former paper a description was given of a large machine, used 
in Cleveland for sewer excavation. The same machine, resembling 
an English travelling crane, has since been seen in Boston at the 
Albany Street sewer. An obvious criticism on it was, that every 
time a ton of earth was moved, several tons of machinery must be 
moved with it. But it did not necessarily follow that the machine 
was not an economical one. A ton can be moved under some circum- 
stances for a cent or less. 

An illustrated description followed of a new method used by Mr. 
Carson, on the East Chester Park Extension sewer. A comparison of 
its performance on the Calf Pasture sewer with that of the swinging 
boom and tramway method, in the same trench and under the same 
conditions, showed a saving, according to Mr. Edward Philbrick, of 
about fifty-eight per cent. 

Mr. Jos. P. Davis brought to the attention of the society the testing 
machine for metals at Watertown, and the secretary was directed to 
make arrangements for an excursion as soon as convenient. 

[^Adjourned.'] 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



74 Tremont Street, Boston, Jan. 19, 1880. 

Dear Sir^ — A meeting of the society will be held in "Wesleyan Hall, 
Boston, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1880, at 7-^ o'clock p. m. 

Mr. Eliot C. Clarke will have something to say concerning the 
plenum process in constructing foundations. 

GEORGE S. RICE, Secretary. 

(RECORD OF DECEMBER, 1879, MEETI]NiG.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Dec. 17, 1879. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Vice-President Joseph P. Davis in the chair, 
and seventeen members present (Bradford, Brooks, EitzGerald, 
Folsom, Fuller, Grant, Herschel, Howland, Jones, Kettell, Lunt, 
Manley, G. S. Rice, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Shepard, Tinkham.) 

The record of the preceding meeting was accepted. 

The o-overnment was authorized to renew the subscriptions for tlie 
periodicals taken by the society and to have them bound. Also to 
meet the expense of the excursion to inspect the United States testing 
machine for metals at the Watertown Arsenal. 

The committee selected to make a class list of engineering books 
in the Boston Public Library was reappointed, and the nmnber 
increased to five, viz.: Chas. D. Austin, Clemens Herschel, Frederick 
Brooks, Chas. W. Kettell and Albert H. Howland. 

Mr. Chas. O. Bray was elected a member of tlie society, and 
Messrs. E. D. Leavitt, Jr., and Daniel H. Johnson were proposed for 
membership by Messrs. Joseph P. Davis and Geo. S. Rice. 

The entertainment for tlie evening consisted of reports on matters 
of interest in some of the periodicals taken by the society., as 

follows : — 

Mr. Clarence W. Lunt read extracts from " Van Nostrand's En- 
gineering Magazine," and called attention to the following articles in 
the twentieth and twenty-first volumes : — 

January. Errors in the manner of Testing Metals. 

February. Discharge of Sewage into the Sea. 

March. Sewage and Irrigation Works in. Germany. 

April. Stability of Dock Walls. 



14 

June. Draining and Improving Desert Lands in France. 

August. The Testing of Pipes and Pipe Joints in Open Trenches. 

jS'ovember. Curiosities of Water Supply. Foundations of the New 
Capitol at Albany, !N". Y. 

December. The Ventilation of Sewers. 

Mr. Chas. W. Kettell called attention to some engineering works 
lately described in the London " Engineering," as follows: — 

Llandulas Yiadtjct. 

No more striking example of rapid bridge construction exists than 
is afforded by the restoration of the Llandulas Viaduct on the main 
line of the London and Northwestern Railway, between Chester and 
Holyhead. This viaduct originally was a masonry structure consist- 
ing of seven arches about twenty-eight feet span, and of six piers with 
embankments on each side for the approaches. 

On Sunday, the 17th of August, the flood-water carried away the 
viaduct, throwing piers and arches into one mass of ruin. It was not 
until Tuesday, the 19th of August, that it was possible to commence 
the temporary works which had to be constructed pending the per- 
manent restoration of the viaduct. These temporary works consisted 
of a timber trestle bridge and a diversion of the line on each side of 
the river, and was completed by the end of the week, so that on 
Sunday, the 24th of August, the first train passed over. Meanwhile 
preparations for the permanent restoration of the viaduct were being 
actively pushed forward. 

The distance to be spanned was two hundred and twenty-four feet, 
and it was decided that the superstructure should be entirely of steel, 
the girders resting on the masonry piers. The total distance was 
divided into seven openings of thirty-two feet each in length; and 
the height of the tallest of the six piers is fifty feet; the lower part 
of these piers is of masonry, and the upper part of brickwork; and 
they are connected together near their foundations by masonry 
inverts which are protected up and down stream by aprons. 

There were in all forty -two girders, each thirty -two feet long, be- 
sides transverse girders, flooring plates, etc., but the work was sim- 
plified by adopting the bold device of rolling all the plates and angle 
irons for the top and bottom girders of each span in single lengths. 
In the incredibly short space of seven days the whole of the material 
was turned out ready for erection, the steel having been manufac- 
tured, rolled and worked up at Crewe. 

The erection itself was completed seven days after the last of the 
steel work had been delivered at the site. So that altogether, in 
somewhat less than a month from the time of the accident, the traffic 
was diverted on to the re-established line, and the temporary works 
became useless. 



15 

The official test showecf a deflection in the centre of the spans, under 
a passing load — of one sixteenth inch. 

It must not be forgotten that an additional interest is attached to 
this viaduct from the fact that it is built wholly of steel, and that 
there are no cover or joint plates used in it throughout. 

I want to call attention to the fact that, even in the temporary- 
structure, the floor was close planked throughout and also ballasted. 

Severn Bridge. 

Another bridge possessing some features of interest is that across 
the Severn, which, together with about five miles of railway, has 
recently been built at a cost of £400,000. By this bridge and rail- 
road, the distance between Bristol and South Wales has been short- 
ened by thirty miles. 

The total length of the Severn bridge is 4,162 feet, including 
twenty-two spans, varying from one hundred and thirty-four feet to 
three hundred and twenty-seven feet in length, and in depth from 
sixteen to thirty-nine feet. It consists of bowstring girders resting 
on iron cylinders. 

There is also a swing span included in the twenty-two, which is 
one hundred and ninety-seven feet long. The height of the bridge 
above high water is seventy feet. 

The cylinders were sunk by excavating from the inside and weight- 
ing on top, the depth of sand at the first twelve piers averaging about 
tw^enty-eight feet. After pier Ko. 12 had been completed, compressed 
air was emploj'ed, the pressure maintained varying from five to forty 
pounds, according to the depth of foundation. Owing to the tide and 
current, and the jdelding nature of the sand, very considerable diffi- 
culty w^as encountered in securing the scaffolding, first for the piers 
and afterwards for the girders. This was especially the case with 
piers JSTos. 14 and 15, the staging, together with the piers, being car- 
ried away on one occasion by the force of the tide, which rises thirty 
feet in two and one fourth hours, and has a ten-knot current. Piers 
Kos. 15 to 20 also caused great difficulty. 

Over this distance the depth from high water to the bed-rock was 
seventy feet. The sand had been scoured away here until only about 
ten feet remained, having a depth of water of thirty feet at low tide. 
Fortunately there was a layer of gravelly clay overlj'ing the rock at 
this part of the river, which afforded firm hold for the piles of the 
staging. 

Owing to these facts, as to the rapid currents and great rise and 
fall of tide, the only practicable way of erecting the girders was the 
tedious and costly one of scaffolding. 

The bridge contains 7,000 tons of iron, and the official tests gave 



-16 

deflection of one and one half inches for the three hundred and 
twenty-seven feet spans, and three fourths of an inch for the smaller 
spans, under a train consisting of eight locomotives. 

Glass Sleepees. 

A new and somewhat singular material for railway and tramway 
sleepers and chairs has lately been introduced into England, this 
material being glass toughened by a process discovered by a Mr. 
Siemens of Dresden, which gives a product diifering essentially from 
glass toughened by the well-known process of de la Bastie, inasmuch 
as when broken it does not fly into pieces like glass treated by the 
last-mentioned process, but breaks more like cast-iron. The process 
of manufacture is briefly as follows. The glass is moulded into 
various forms as may be desired, in hollow moulds, through w^hich 
cool air or water is passed in such a way as to secure a uniform rate 
of cooling throughout the casting. The toughening is effected by 
plunging the glass when at a high temperature into a bath of cool oil 
or other liquid; but it can also be effected in the moulds themselves 
by carefully protecting the glass from coming into direct contact with 
the metal of the mould to prevent chilling, and by the use of the 
hollow moulds before mentioned. 

As to the strength of these sleepers, the following may be said. 

Some of these glass sleepers are laid down upon the North Metro- 
politan Tramway. They are laid longitudinally in three-feet lengths, 
six inches by four inches, and are specially formed on the upper 
surface to allow of the rail exactly fitting. The average transverse 
resistance of the sleepers, tested at Mr. Kirkaldy's works, supported 
at thirty inches, was found to be thirty tons. 

Also, a falling weight of nine cwts. dropped from a crane upon a glass 
plate nine inches by nine inches by one and one eighth inches laid 
upon a gravel ballast nine inches deep with a wood cushion one 
eighth inch in thickness between the glass and the rail gave the 
following results : — 

without effect. 



\al 


1 3 




5^ 




7 




^^ 




15 




n 




20 



At this point the rail broke, and as a heavier weight was not avail- 
able, and the crane could not raise the weight higher, a smaller sec- 
tion of rail was substituted, when the plate succumbed to the twenty- 
first application of the nine cwt. , falling now twenty feet. 



17 

A cast-iron plate nine inches by nine inches by one half inch 
broke under a fall of ten feet. 

The cost of the toughened glass is stated to be about the same per 
ton as cast-iron, but as its specific gravity is only one third that of 
iron, the cost of any article of given dimensions is of course mate- 
rially less. 

Mr. D. PiTZGERALD Called attention to the Claix bridge, as 
described in a recent number of " Annales des Ponts et Chaus- 
sees," built in 1874 over the Drac Eiver in France. 

This bridge, on one of the national roads, was constructed to take 
the place of an ancient bridge built in 1608. 

The old bridge, a single arch of 45.6 metres span, was of poor con- 
struction, and being nearly a semicircle, necessitated heavy grades 
to the approaches. It was to avoid these that the new bridge was 
undertaken. The abutments being of rock on each bank, a single 
masonry arch was adopted of fifty-two metres span and 7.4 metres 
rise. The arch is of rubble, with rings on each face of cut stone. 
Thickness of arch at the key, 1.5 metres, at the springing line, 3.1 
metres. The depths of the ring stones at the keys is 1.2 metres, and 
at the spring, 2.6 metres. 

This arch is a fine specimen of the practice of building arches in 
France. Its lines are graceful, and the construction bolder than 
would be attempted in this country. The method used in erection 
was peculiar in some respects and decidedly interesting. In accord- 
ance with the theory of M. Dupuit, in his " Traite de I'Equilibre des 
Voutes," the rubble arch was built over the centre in several annular 
rings, to avoid the cracking of the joints at the springs, due to the 
settling of the centre. The portions at the springs, on the haunches, 
and at the centre of the span, were built simultaneously, and closed 
at the same time, after which it was found that the settlement of the 
centre had been .004 metre. 

This amount did not increase during the remainder of the construc- 
tion of the arch, nor did any cracks form at the springs, as has been 
experienced in other arches. Great care was taken in the execution 
of the rubble, and the joining of the second annular layer of stones 
was effected only after the most careful scraping and wetting. 

The composition of the mortar was 

1,000 litres of sand. 

1,000 kilograms of Yicat cement. 

363 litres of water. 

The thrust at the key was twenty-one kilograms per square centim- 
eter, and the total oblique thrust of the arch at the springs was about 
3,100,000 kilograms. 

The movement of the centre of the arch under a difference of fifty- 



18 

two degrees (centigrade) was found to be .007 metre. Ko cracks 

have been discovered in the body of the arch, but some have appeared 

in the string course and in the spandrils. They open in the winter 

and shut in the summer. The position of the workmen was changed 

every day during the construction of the rubble, to distribute personal 

errors. The total cost of the bridge, exclusive of damages, was about 

$28,000. 

lAdjourned.2 

George S. Eice, Secretary. 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



74 Tremont Street, Boston^, Feb. 16, 1880. 

A meeting of the society will be held in Wesleyan Hall, Boston, 
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1880, at 7^ o'clock p. m., when the following 
papers will be read : — 

" The Production and Transmission of Power by Means of Elec- 
tricity," by Mr. George ^Y. Blodgett. 

" Kock Blasting and Machine Drilling," by Mr. William Whit- 
taker. 

A report (see copy appended) is expected from the Committee on 
the Metric System. 

The Committee on Class List of Engineering Books in the Boston 
Public Library hope before many months to have printed in the 
Library Bulletin a select list of engineering books. Their further 
work of classifying all the engineering books in the library will 
depend for the thoroughness of its execution upon the amount of 
assistance volunteered by members. Prom the library catalogue there 
have been copied perhaps a dozen titles under each of the following 
heads; any member who will undertake to inspect at the library the 
books in one or more of these subdivisions is requested to communi- 
cate with Frederick Brooks, at 31 Milk Street, Boom 18. 

Surveying and Mensuration. 

General Treatises on Construction and Resistance of Materials. 

Mechanics of Arches, Trusses, and Retaining Walls. 

Stone and Masonry. 

Artificial Stone, Concrete, Mortar, Asphalt, etc. 

Wood and Carpentry. 

Iron and Steel. 

Foundations and Dredging. 

Blasting and Tunnelling. 

The Steam Engine. 

Attention is called to Articles XYI and XYIII of the Constitution 
as recently revised. They are reprinted below. 

Under Article XYIII the secretary will, before the March meeting, 
erase from the list of members the names of all who have not paid the 
assessment levied March 19, 1879, no discretion being left to the offi- 
cers of the society in the matter. Members residing more than fifty 
miles from Boston are reminded that in order to avail themselves of 
the provisions of Article XYI, they must notify the secretary in 



20 

writing, and pay $2.00, AT or BEFOEE the March meeting. Other- 
wise they will be assessed as usual at that meeting. 

Article XYI. 

During residence fifty miles or more from Boston, any member 
whose dues have been fully paid may, upon notice to the secretary 
in writing, retain his membership by the payment of S2 per year, 
payable at the annual meeting, and be exempted from any other 
assessment. 

Article XYIII. 

Any member who does not pay his assessment within eleven 
months after it is levied shall cease to be a member, but his debt to 
the society shall not thereby be discharged. 

GEOEGE S. EICE, Secretary. 

Metric Committee Eeport. 

To the Boston Society of Civil Engineers: — 

The Committee on the Metric System of Weights and Measures beg 
leave to present this report. 

The society's action for the past four or five years is apparently based 
on faith that the metric system is destined to be the sole standard of 
the United States, and on fear that the approach toward that desired 
result will be an inconvenient process. To lessen the inconvenience, 
so far as it can, is the main purpose, we understand, for which this 
committee was established. The permanence of the committee has 
been owing to its general duty of collecting facts and making sug- 
gestions, in addition to specified work which it was particularly 
instructed to do. Its existence is the direct consequence of a recom- 
mendation made to the society, Kov. 15, 1875, in the following 
words : — 

"Finally, there will be a great many other details in the conduct 
of such a far-reaching reform, in regard to some of which the action 
or advice of the society will be valuable, such as the preparation of 
convenient tables for converting dimensions from one denomination 
into another, the devising of patteriis for measuring implements, the 
substitution of a metric standard for bolts and nuts in place of the 
present United States standard, the writing of double scales and 
dimensions upon plans and reports, and the advertising of the metric 
system in various ways, and especially at the Centennial Exhibition 
at Philadelphia. It is recommended, therefore, that a standing Com- 
mittee on the Metric System be appointed to report from time to time 
to the society as occasion may require. Such a committee might 
obtain new information for the society. It might procure a copy of 



I 



21 

the full report of tUfe American Association for the advancement of 
science, of which a brief notice has already been published. From 
that, it seems that ' all scientific bodies ' are asked to give ' an expres- 
sion of opinion to urge upon Congress the monetary aid desirable to 
meet the national share of the expenses ' of establishing accurate 
metric standards (estimated at S1^,000, original appropriation with 
about $1,000 per annum, subsequently). It might recommend the 
society to petition Congress, as the American Metrological Society 
has done, to introduce the metric system in the custom-house, post- 
otfice, and government departments, and it might also suggest peti- 
tioning the State and city governments to abandon the common stand- 
ards in their public works." 

Some of the things here suggested have'been done and others not, 
and things not here suggested have naturally required attention. The 
adviintage that the society has gained heretofore by having such a 
committee, it may expect to gain hereafter by continuing to have one. 
If it is preferred, however, that all business relative to this subject be 
done in society meetings, rather than intrusted to the discretion of a 
committee, let the committee expire at the annual meeting next 
month: it has on hand no work partly done, and it has found very 
little to do since its last report, except to gather news of the progress 
of the reform. The following are a few items : — 

In the Civil Engineers' Club of the Northwest, the committee 
appointed early in 1876, presented May 6, 1879, what was intended to 
be its final report, from which we quote these two characteristic pas- 
sages: — 

" Your committee fairly believe that the change must be made in 
time, and that when reached it will be worth more than its cost. But 
we do not see that it can be forced by legislation upon an unwilling 
or even an indifferent and uninformed people. 

" The great mass of weighing and measuring men and women must 
be familiarized with the metric units, and must feel that their use 
will be a matter of daily convenience to themselves and of vast econ- 
omy of time and labor to the community. The system may then 
easily be made national and exclusive. The process of familiarizing 
is constantly going on, though more slowly than could be wished." 

^' We suggest as a further means, and perhaps the most efficient one 
of advancing the desired reform, that this Club join the Boston Soci- 
ety of Civil Engineers in their petition to Congress, as set forth in the 
report of the standing Committee on the Metric System, dated March 
19 1879 and that we add to the said petition a prayer that on and after 
the date fixed in said petition (July 1, 1881), all material bought or 
work done for the United States government in any of its depart- 
ments be measured or estimated by the metric standards only, except 



22 

as relates to public buildings or other works whose construction has 
been begun with the present standards, and except as to contracts in 
form previously to that date." 

In the present Congress, on April 21, 1879, Mr. Stephens introduced 
a bill (H. R. , I^To. 411) to enable importers to use the metric weights 
and measures by throwing off awkward fractions in the rates of ad 
quantum duties upon articles imported with metric invoices. It pro- 
vides for instance that " the rate per kilogram shall be 2^^ times the 
rate per pound." By the present law it would be 2^o%%\i which is a 
little bigger and a great deal more troublesome to compute. The bill 
was, in the usual form, read a first and second time, referred to the 
Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, and ordered to be 
printed. The clerk of the Committee writes, Dec. 3, 1879: — 

*' The committee will doubtless push through H. E., No. 411, at the 
earliest possible day. ... I apprehend but few obstacles to its pas- 
sage when reached." 

In order to obtain an expression of the public sentiment which 
supports such expected legislation, the American Metrological Soci- 
ety is now circulating for signatures a memorial, urging Congress 
to take action upon the use of the metric system in the custom house. 
We advise all who favor the metric sj^stem to sign it individually. 
Our Society's memorial to similar purport was presented in the House 
last June by our representative, Hon. William Claflin, who is a mem- 
ber of the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. Neither 
memorial refers to the subject of coinage. 

Levels of precision on the United States Lake Survey and the Sur- 
vey of the Mississippi Eiver have been taken in meters. Lines were 
run from Escanaba on Lake Michigan to Marquette on Lake Superior 
in August, September, and October, 1876, and from Gibraltar on Lake 
Erie to Lakeport on Lake Huron, and from Memphis, Tenn., to 
Austin, Miss., in 1877. Pretty full particulars are given in the reports 
of the Chief of Engineers. (In Appendix LL, of Report for 1877, 
see Appendix F, Report of Assistant Engineers, L. L. Wheeler and 
E. W. Lehnartz, being pp. 1189-93 of Part 2. In Appendix LL, of 
Report for 1878, see Appendices B, 3 and F, Reports of Assistant 
Engineer F. W. Lehnartz, being pp. 1386-94 and 1408-10 of Part' 3.) 
These are the earliest instances known to us of the use in the United 
States of the meter in levelling. We can think of no good reason why 
it should not hereafter be used in vertical measurement as freely as 
in horizontal. 

Another and a very important practical step relates to the Pharma- 
copoeia; this is the reference manual of apothecaries, and the Dispen- 
satory, the reference manual of physicians, is based upon it. The 
Pharmacopoeia is edited by a committee of both professions, and is 
published every ten years. The committee of reyision has been 



23 

instructed to express in the edition of 1880 the quantities of the several 
ingredients in a compound, not in Troy ounces, drachms, and scruples, 
pints, fluid ounces, etc., as heretofore, but in parts, — so many parts of 
this component and so many of that; which will be exactly adapted to 
the metric system, because that is a decimal system, but will be very 
ill adapted to our irregular old apothecaries' tables. 

In monthly magazines, reviews, etc., there has been a perceptible 
increase in the frequency of articles on the metric question. A popu- 
lar article on the general subject, which appeared in " Scribner's 
Monthly" for July, 1879, and a table of scales of plans published in 
" Engineering News " of June 14, 1879, have the indorsement of this 
committee. 

There was organized in this city last November the iNTEE^srATioisrAL 
I:srsTiTUTE, a society having for its object the " ' preserving and per- 
fecting ' our present units of weights and measures." This is to be 
done by opposing the introduction of the metric system into this 
country, and by " the modification and improvement of our tables," 
while "preserving with jealous care the old familiar units, so well 
known and so easily comprehended." The circular from which the 
foregoing information is quoted has the appearance of being written 
in good faith, and the delicate sarcasm of the last line was doubtless 
unintentional. We are not informed as to the precise plan of opera- 
tion of this organization; nor do we perceive how a thing can be 
preserved by " modification and improvement," nor why, being " so 
well known and so easily understood," any modification should be 
contemplated; but are informed by the circular that it is " only to be 
accomplished by organization and discussion." It is proposed to form 
auxiliary societies " in every State, city and village in the country." 

Respectfully submitted, 

Fkederick Brooks, 

L. Frederick Rice, 

Clemens Herschel, 

Committee. 
February 12, 1880. 

(RECORD OF JANUARY, 1880, MEETING.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Jan. 21, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Yice-President Jos. P. Davis in the chair, and 
twenty-six members present (Blodgett, Bray, Brooks, Carr, Carson, 
Cheney, Clarke, E. S. Davis, Eaton, A. W. Forbes, Fteley, Fuller, 
Grant, Herschel, Howe, Howland, Jackson, Learned, Lunt, Manley, 
Noyes, Phinney, G. S. Rice, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Whitney). The 
record of the preceding meeting was accepted. On the motion of 



24 

Mr. Brooks, the society voted to subscribe to the " American 
Engineer." 

Messrs. E. D. Leavitt, Jr., and D. H. Johnson were elected mem- 
bers of the society, after which Mr. Eliot C. Clarke gave a description 
of a portion of the Chicago Water Works, an abstract of which is 
given below. 

SOME DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN SINKING A SHAFT FOR 
THE SECOND LAKE TUNNEL AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 

This shaft was sunk in the well of the water-works crib in Lake 
Michigan, two miles from shore. The speaker was assistant engineer 
in immediate charge of the work, which was carried on in 1873. 

One shaft connecting with a five-feet diameter tunnel had pre- 
viously been built in the crib well, and the new shaft was to be used 
in building a second and larger tunnel. The water in the well was 
about thirty-two feet deep, and the tunnel was to be about thirty-five 
feet below the bottom of the lake at that point. The shaft consisted 
of a cast-iron cylinder, and no difficulty was experienced in sinking it 
through the water, and for about thirty feet in good clay. At that 
depth a vein of sand was met with, which probably extended to the 
tunnel previously built. A great deal of water came into the shaft 
from this sand, and it was feared that even if it was possible to pump 
it, much sand would run into the shaft with the water, and perhaps, 
by leaving cavities about the first tunnel, cause it to be broken. It 
was therefore decided to force the water out by use of the plenum 
process. Air pumps were procured, an air lock put upon the top of 
the cylinder, the water driven out by air pressure, and the work pro- 
ceeded under these conditions. 

The speaker then described the diffigulties attendant on the use of 
compressed air, especially the many cases of " caisson disease " from 
which the workmen suffered. The intensity of pressure varied from 
thirty to thirty-five pounds per square inch. About twenty-five cases 
of disease occurred. The symptoms consisted of severe pains in one 
or more of the limbs, sometimes involving the head and trunk. In 
more than one half of the cases there was present partial or complete 
paralysis of the parts alfected. Two cases of slight paralysis unac- 
companied by pain occurred, one of ai^ arm, the other of the optic 
nerve, rendering the patient blind for half an hour. In several cases 
the pain was intermittent, and seemed very much like cramp, contort- 
ino; the limbs affected. The duration of the disease in its acute form 
was from eight hours to three days. In the more severe attacks dis- 
comfort was experienced for several days longer, and swellings of the 
limbs were sometimes two or more weeks in subsiding. In two cases 
pain was felt at intervals for three months after apparent recovery. 
There was no fatal case, and seldom any medical attendance. Local 



25 

applications of " pain-killing "J liniments sometimes afforded slight 
temporary alleviation. A return under pressure invariably banished 
all sj'mptoms of the disease; but except in three instances, these reap- 
peared on coming out of the air lock. The length of shift was two 
hours, and three such shifts in twenty-four hours constituted a day's 
work. The rate of pa}^ for workmen who entered ^le cylinder was 
finally raised to SI an hour. 

By such methods, the shaft was finally sunk to the required depth, 
its bottom secured, the air lock removed, and an effort was made to 
begin the tunnel. At the first attempt, Avhen a very small opening 
had been made in the side of the shaft, an irruption of soft clay and 
water occurred, which filled the shaft in a few minutes, and nearly 
drowned the engineer, superintendent, and two miners who were at 
work in it. It was then discovered that the compressed air, escaping, 
as it frequently did, under the bottom edge of the cylinder, and work- 
ing its way up along its sides, had demoralized the clay and afforded 
free access to the water of the lake. 

A great deal of puddled clay was first put around the shaft, and an 
attempt was then made to pump it out. When, however, the water 
had been lowered about sixty feet, a second irruption occurred. 

More clay in bags was then put about the shaft, the water gradu- 
ally lowered by pumping, and through more than one hundred holes 
drilled in the sides of the cylinder, in every direction, round iron 
rods, seven feet long, were thrust out into the clay. It was hoped 
that the bags would catch upon these rods and be held. A very heavy 
sail-cloth jacket was also fitted around the cylinder, and extending 
on the surface of the ground as far as possible, was covered and 
weighted down with clay and stones. The water was finally entirely 
pumped out of the shaft; but shortly afterwards a third irruption oc- 
curred, the bags of clay and the sail-cloth disappeared, and the shaft 
again filled with water. 

The air lock was again put on the cylinder and the water forced 
out by air pressure. Attempts made by the most skilful miners to 
start the tunnel, and to confine the air by using tongued and grooved 
ash poling boards with leaded joints, were unsuccessful. More clay 
was put around the shaft, and a horizontal slot was cut in the cylinder, 
through which fan-shaped, forged iron bars, two inches thick and 
seven feet long, were driven, forming with each other a solid iron 
roof above where the tunnel was to be. The demoralized clay ex- 
tended three feet from the shaft, and the iron roof penetrated four 
feet into solid clay. Under the protection of this roof the tunnel 
was at last started, and no more ditficulties were encountered. Trans- 
ferring the line from above ground down to the tunnel required great 
care in this case. The line was obtained from sights two miles dis- 
tant on the shore, and was transferred from the top of the crib to the 



26 

bottom of the shaft by plumb-lines one hundred feet long. As the 
shaft was not vertical, the base obtained at its bottom was only four 
feet long. From this short base the line was carried about fifty feet 
southward, where an angle of about ninety degrees was turned, and the. 
line prolonged westward to meet the tunnel already begun from the 
shore. The error in alignment when the headings met was found to 
be about eighteen inches. 

A discussion on the subject covered by Mr. Clarke's remarks was 
participated in by Mr. Davis, Mr. Carson, Mr. L. F. Eice, and other 
members. 

Adjourned. 

George S. Rice, Secretary. 



THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



74 Tremont Street, Boston, March 15, 1880. 
The annual meeting of the society, for election of officers and 
transaction of business, Avill be held in Weslej^an Hall, Boston, 
Wednesday, March 17, at 7^ o'clock, p. m. 

The several committees of the society, unless reappointed at this 
meeting, expire March 17, 1880. 

Keports on matters of interest in the several magazines taken by 
the society are expected. 

GEORGE S. RICE, Secretary. 

(RECORD OF FEBRUARY, 1880, MEETING.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Feb. 18, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Vice-President Joseph P. Davis in the chair, and 
twenty-five members present (Blodgett, Bray, Bradley, Brooks, Car- 
son, Clarke, Crafts, T. ^Y. Davis, Eaton, Fitz Gerald, Folsom, A. W. 
Forbes, Fuller, Hardy, Howland, Jackson, Kettell, JSToyes, Phinney, 
G. S. Rice, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Tinkham, Whittaker, Whitney). 

The record of the preceding meeting and the report of the Com- 
mittee on the Metric System were accepted. 

Mr. Thos. Aspinwall was proposed for membership by Messrs. Geo. 
S. Rice and D. Fitz Gerald. Communications from the department 
of State calling attention to a prize offered by the king of the Belgians, 
and 'from Mr. F. W. D. Holbrook, member of the society, describing a 
portable snow fence used on the Northern Pacific Railroad, were read. 

The entertainment of the evening consisted in the reading of the 
two papers, abstracts of which are given below. 

Production and Transmission of Power by Electricity. 

BY GEO. W. BLODGETT. 

The successful introduction of the electric light for practical use, 
the many inventions involving one or another of the applications of 
electricity, together with a popular interest in the many practical 
uses to which it can be put, make an examination into the methods, 
economy, and cost of its production and distribution, highl}^ oppor- 
tune. It is only within a few years that means have been devised to 
produce electricity in large quantities cheaply enough to come into 



8 

use even for lighting purposes. Now there are companies which 
engage to light mills, manufactories, and laroe areas, and fruarantee 
the cost not to exceed one half that paid for gas, for the same prem- 
ises, and furnish a better and purer light. Electricity is likely to be ■ 
economically applied for many other purposes for which it is not now 
used. 

It is not my purpose to discuss electric lighting, or the questions of 
great scientific and practical interest connected therewith; but since 
electric currents used are almost always generated by mechanical 
power, a description of some such machines, the mode of working, 
the degree of efficiency attained, and the relative merits of each type 
of machine which has been practically tested, may not be uninterest- 
ing. The sources from which electricity can be derived are almost 
innumerable; those best known being batteries of many kinds, fric- 
tional machines, thermopiles and electric machines. It is only the 
last which have been economically used for the production of large 
quantities of electricity. I ask you to take for granted that large 
quantities of electricity can be generated cheaper and more conven- 
iently by mechanical means, than b}^ chemical action or by friction. 
There are many kinds of machines, in all of whiph there is one im- 
portant principle, known as the principle of induction. Machines 
can be divided into two classes: those that employ permanent magnets, 
and those in which the electricity which the machine generates is 
made to pass through long coils of wire which surround cores of soft 
iron, making the iron strongly magnetic, and forming what is known 
as an electro-magnet. Machines of the first class are called magneto- 
electric, and those of the second class dynamo-electric; their history 
is briefly as follows : — 

In 1819,. Oersted, a Danish physicist, discovered that a current of 
electricity flowing in a wire near which was placed a magnetic needle 
caused a deflection of the needle. 

In 1831, Faraday discovered that a magnet in motion near a coil of 
wire could generate a current in the wire. 

These two discoveries and those which followed convinced the 
experimenters of that time of the general principles underlying them, 
which may be briefly stated in the following terms, and which is the 
law of the relations between electricity and magnetism: — 

I. Any variation in the electrical state of bodies can produce a 
magnetic disturbance, and any change in the magnetic condition of 
bodies produces corresponding electrical variations. 

II. Magnetism may be induced in bodies capable of magnetic 
influences by magnets, and electric currents may be induced by the 
action of electric currents in other bodies. 

The currents in magneto-electricity are called " induced," to distin- 
guish them from those flowing from a battery, because they are usually 



29 

not continuous, but are the result of a previously determined set of 
conditions. The first machine the writer has found any descrij^tion 
of caused a horseshoe magnet to revolve in front of the ends of a 
double induction coil. This was constructed by Pixii, in 1832, and 
was improved by Saxton, and afterwards by Clarke, who revolved the 
coils instead of the ma2;net. 

Yery large magneto-electric machines have been made, notably 
those used in some of the light-houses in Traiice. They were of the 
type known as the Alliance machines, employing fifty or sixty perma- 
nent horseshoe magnets, each capable of sustaining sixty or seventy 
kilograms. The objection to magneto machines is the limit of the 
power and intensity of the permanent magnets employed. 

It has been discovered that an electric current circulating in a 
wire wound spirally around a piece of soft iron renders it strongly 
magnetic so long as the current passes. By increasing the number 
of the turns of wire, the strength of the current, and by projDerly pro- 
portioning the dimensions of the coils and of the iron cores, we can 
obtain magnets of immense power. The Stevens Institute of Tech- 
nology, at Hoboken,i)ossesses one said to be capable of lifting several 
tons. 

The Gramme, Siemens, Brush, and Farmer-TVallace machines are 
what are called dynamo-electric, and are those in which electro- 
magnets are used instead of permanent magnets, having correspond- 
ing increase in power. 

In order to obtain mechanical motion by electricity from these 
machines, it is necessary to reconvert the current, transformed from 
mechanical motion back into power. 

To accomplish this, a second machine is necessary, which must be 
connected with the first machine b}^ suitable conductors, and from 
which the power can be taken off for the purposes required. The 
power recovered depends on the size and kind of the machine, and the 
electro-motive force of the current. 

Electro-motive force of a battery or machine may be defined as the 
power it has to overcome resistance. If we compare an electric cur- 
rent to a stream of water, then we may say that the electro-motive 
force corresponds to the volume multiplied by the head; or if E equals 
the electro-motive force, C the quantity, and K, the pressure or head, 
then E = C X K. 

The greater the electro-motive force of the current, — that is, the 
power to overcome resistance, — the greater the effect produced on the 
second machine. It has usually been supposed necessary that a 
large quantity of electricity should be conducted from one machine 
to the. other, and hence some have supposed electric transmission 
impracticable because of the great size of conductors necessary. For 
instance, one prominent electrician asserts that a conductor of suffi- 



30 

cient size to transmit the power of ]N^iagara Falls a distance of five 
hundred miles would require more copper than exists in the deposits 
of Lake Superior. Another estimates the cost at $60 per lineal foot. 
A very interesting discussion relating to the above, by Messrs. Hous- 
ton and Thompson, is printed in the January, 1879, number of Journal 
of the Franklin Institute. 

We come now to the question, how high a rate of efficiency can 
dynamo-electric machines produce, and w^hat percentage of the 
power applied to the pulley of the first of two coupled machines 
can be recovered at the pulley of the second machine? 

Like most other machines, there is a wide limit of variation in the 
performances under favorable and unfavorable conditions ; and even 
under the same conditions, different machines produce various quan- 
tities of electricity. Dr. Paget Higgs has obtained from a Siemens 
machine about ninety per cent, exclusive of friction. Prof. Trow- 
bridge obtained seventy-six per cent., also with a Siemens machine, 
which he states to have been running below its normal speed. The 
veteran electrician, Moses G. Farmer, in a private letter, says, " I 
have obtained as high as eighty-five per cent. ; others claim more ; some 
may go as high as ninety per cent, under especially falvorable condi- 
tions; but from seventy to eighty per cent, is a fair amount." 

It appears that the Brush machine has given as high as eighty-seven 
and four tenths per cent. The remainder of the force is expended in 
driving the machine and producing local currents in different parts of 
the machine, which currents ultimately manifest themselves as heat, 
principally in the armatures in which the local currents are for the • 
most part produced. 

In order to get the best effect from an electric machine, the external 
and internal resistances must be equal. If the internal resistance of 
the machine be greater than that of the external parts, then a larger 
part of the current produced will be used in internal work, eventually 
appearing as heat in the machine. If the internal resistance be too 
small, the current developed will be below what might be obtained 
from the machine. 

We are not to conclude that a machine which heats badly, when 
working through a small resistance, is therefore inefficient. We 
should first try the machine with proper external resistance inter- 
posed. In coupled machines the greatest strength of current passes 
through the conductor when the second machine is at rest. As soon 
as the machine starts, an electro-motive force is developed in a direc- 
tion contrary to that of the first machine, which tends to neutralize 
the current in the conductor. The greatest work is obtained from 
the second machine, when the number of revolutions per minute 
equals half that of the first machine. Experiment has borne out the 
theory in this respect. 



31 

In an admirable little work on the " Electric Transmission of 
Power," by Dr. Paget Higgs, is given the results of a series of exper- 
iments on machines running at different speeds, with the result, 
when the first machine made eleven hundred revolutions per minute 
the maximum effect was obtained, when the second machine made 
five hundred and one revolutions a minute in one series of trials, and 
six hundred and twenty-five in another.' Also when the first machine 
made fourteen hundred revolutions, and the second six hundred and 
ninety-one, the maximum per cent, was obtained. These per cents, 
were thirty-nine, forty-five, and forty -nine respectively. 

Let us now examine briefly some instances of the actual employ- 
ment of electricity as a means of transmission of power. On May 26, 
1879, a field was ploughed at Sermaize, in Prance, by means of power 
transmitted four hundred and six hundred metres. 

At the Berlin Exposition, 1879, there was in operation a railroad 
three hundred metres long, run by electricity furnished by a machine 
working in the large hall. This distance Avas traversed in two min- 
utes by a train consisting of a locomotive and three wagons, in each 
of which six persons could be accommodated. 

Sir William Thompson transmitted eight or ten horse-powers more 
than a mile by an electric current. 

Dr. Paget Higgs, in a letter, furnished me some interesting unpub- 
lished data which I am permitted to lay before you, as follows: — 

" The later experimental trials, of which I spoke to you, were con- 
cerned with much larger powers, and in transmitting ninety-eight 
horse-powers, ten machines were at first employed; these by subse- 
quent improvements were reduced to two at each end of the wire. 
The wire, of copper, was three eighths of an inch in diameter, and 
was suspended on ordinary posts. The source of power was a head 
of water made available by means of a turbine. Our first machine 
was driven at nine hundred and fifty, and the second at four hundred 
and fifty to four hundred and sixty revolutions a minute. Xo return 
wire was used; the earth was employed to complete the circuit, but 
the earth plates were constructed on a somewhat novel manner. The 
distance, two and a quarter miles, is, J believe, the longest distance 
power has been transmitted at so high a percentage as forty-eight 
per cent, reclaimed. All measurements were by dynamometer, taken 
during actual running and not specially measured. The cost of ma- 
chines and conductors, exclusive of the turbine, was twenty per cent. 
less than the estimated cost of putting in new boilers and new boiler- 
house to work an existing steam engine. Please note that the ma- 
chines and power require no attention, no stoker, no fireman, no 
fitler, and are lubricated about as often as an ordinary shafting. It is 
intended to double the power." 



32 

Finally we may sum up as follows : — 

1. Electrical transmission of power is always possible, and can be 
applied when hydraulic power, compressed air, and wire-rope trans- 
mission would be impossible. 

2. An efficiency of seventy-five or ninety per cent, may be counted 
on in the transformation of power into current. 

3. About forty or fifty per cent, of the power applied to the pulley 
of the first machine can be recovered at that of the second. 

Thus far the machines used at both ends of the line have been 
substantially alike. It is possible changes in them may show better 
results. 

The ideal machine would be that in which the friction and resist- 
ance to the air are a minimum, and in which the ratio of internal 
work to external work is as small as possible. 

As great a surface as possible in the armature should be exposed to 
the air, in order that the heat developed may be radiated as rapidly as 
possible. 

The writer is indebted to the Brush Electric Light Companj^, Mr. 
M. G. Farmer, Wallace & Sons, and especially to Dr. Paget Higgs, 
for valuable information. 



EocK Blasting and Machine Drilling. 

BY WIIiLIAM WHITTAKBR. 

The writer, having had occasion to take out fifty thousand cubic 
yards of rock in a trench thirty feet wide on top, twenty-four feet at 
the bottom, and an avera2:e depth of thirty feet, took very careful 
measurements to ascertain the cost of the work, and he had divided 
the. work as follows: — 

1st. Drilling per cubic yard of rock. 

2d. Explosive compound per cubic yard. 

3d. Barring and loosing after blasting. 

.4th. Hoisting, loading, and dumping. 

5th. Tools ; including derricks, bars, wedges, picks, hammers, drills, 
smith shops, etc. 

6th. Water, incidentals, superintendence, etc. 

7th. Comparison between machine and hand drilling, and the 
advantages of machine drilling. 

The drilling, depending considerably on the strength and nature of 
the explosive, would necessitate the consideration of the two first 
items togethei*; the amount of drilling varying, of course, according to 
the size of the cutting. In nearly all the works on engineering, one 
thirty-second of the cube of the line of least resistance is taken to 
determine the number of pounds of good powder to be used in the 
hole or holes under consideration. Taking this as a basis, the writer 



33 

found that ]S'o. 2 Kendrock, manufactured by Eand & Co., was three 
times as strong as good black powder, the black powder being salt- 
petre powder. 

So that one hundredth of the cube of the line of least resistance 
would give the number of pounds of Rendrock to be used in each 
hole, provided there were no faults or seams to let the force of the 
explosion go some other way, when the holes would necessarily have 
to be drilled to suit the particular case. 

It is evident from the above that the strength of the explosive has 
considerable to do with the drilling. For instance, suppose we wish 
to blow out with powder a piece of rock four feet back from the face, 
four feet deep, and thirty feet wide, — about eighteen cubic yards of 
rock. ^Ye will take five holes, seven and a half feet apart and four 
feet back from the face. Then four cubed and divided by thirty-two 
gives two as the number of pounds of powder for one hole. This 
will take a hole three inches in diameter at the top and two and a 
half inches at the bottom. 

If you drill the three middle holes five feet deep, and the two 
outside holes five and a half feet, you will have twenty-six feet of 
drilling for eighteen cubic yards of rock, or nearly eighteen inches 
per cubic yard. 

The inside holes taking two pounds each and the outside holes 
three each, makes twelve pounds of powder; and in the twenty-six 
feet of drilling, we have one hundred and fifty-six feet cubic inches 
of rock pounded into dust. Taking the Eendrock, four cubed and 
divided by one hundred gives sixty-four hundredths pounds of Ren- 
drock to be used in the middle holes, and seventy-five hundredths 
pounds to be used in the outside holes, the outside holes being 
generally measured on a diagonal of about thirty degrees. This will 
give three and forty-two hundredths pounds of Rendrock to be used, 
and the inside holes would be four feet four inches deep, and the 
outside holes four feet six inches. The holes would be two inches in 
diameter at the top, and one and a half inches at the bottom. 

From this, we see that for the same amount of rock there will be 
twenty-two feet of drilling and about fifty-three cubic inches of rock 
pounded into dust; and the cost of the Rendrock being about three 
times the cost of black powder, makes the Rendrock the cheaper to 
use, not saying anything about the difference in the amount of 
drilling. 

The farther one goes back from the face, and the deeper one can 
drill the holes, the less the number required, and the saving in using 
high explosives is more apparent. The explosive used in 4liis work 
was believed to contain from thirty to thirty-five per cent, of nitro- 
glycerine. The bulk of the explosive, compared with powder, was as 
two to three, i. e., twenty cubic inches of Rendrock, weighing one 



34 

pound, and thirty cubic inches of powder weighing one pound; so that 
Rendrock would only occupy two ninths of the space in the holes that 
the powder wotild, which makes considerable ditference. 

Suppose we take a case where the holes are nine feet back of the 
face: there will be four holes, two twelve feet deep and two twelve and 
a half feet, three inches in diameter at the top and two at the bottom, 
which will give two hundred and fortj^-four cubic inches of rock 
pounded into dust, and forty-nine feet of drilling, or six and a half 
inches to the cubic yard. This will require thirty-two pounds of 
Rendrock for ninety cubic yards of rock, or about one third of a pound 
of Rendrock to a cubic yard of rock. 

In this case the cost of powder and Rendrock will be about the 
same, but the amount of drilling is much more for powder. The in- 
side powder-holes would have to be sixteen feet deep, six inches in 
diameter at the top, and four inches at the bottom, and the outside 
holes seventeen feet deep. So that there would be sixty-six feet of 
drilling and one thousand and thirteen cubic inches of rock pounded 
into dust, making seventeen feet more of drilling and five times more 
rock pounded into dust, showing conclusively that the Rendrock is 
a more economical explosive than black powder. This will apply, 
other things being equal, to any explosive stronger than black powder. 

The writer tried seven kegs of very good black powder, and found 
that the high explosive saved fifty per cent, on drilling, the cost of 
explosive being about the same. If the holes are wet, the saving is 
still greater. 

In taking out the fifty thousand cubic yards of rock, the cost of 
drilling was seventeen per cent., keeping steam drills in order five 
per cent., cost of explosive twenty-two per cent., making forty-four 
(44) per cent, the total for drilling and explosive. The Rendrock 
averaged about one half a pound per cubic yard of rock excavated, 
and the drilling averaged seven inches per cubic yard, though it varied 
from three to twenty-four inches. 

Barring and Loosing after Blasting. 

The experience in this cutting may be taken as an average of the 
cost of loosing of rock after blasting, and would, in the opinion of the 
writer, vary very little from the following figures in any open cut, but 
would be less, of course, in small tunnels, on account of the holes being 
smaller and the large amount of explosive used. 

It was found where there was no chance of damage to property by 
blasting, that by using more explosive there would be less barring, 
but that the cost of getting the rock ready for moving was about the 
same, practically no difference. The cost of this was twelve per cent., 
including the splitting or wedging, and making the pieces small 
enough for handling. 



35 



The stones hoisted singly varied from three tons to about five or six 
hundred weight. All the rock had to be hoisted about fifty feet and 
loaded into teams. The smaller stones were thro^fn into boxes 
and loaded in the same way. The barring and loosing all through tlie 
work, by a careful record from day to day, did not vary much in cost. 

Hoisting^ Loading^ and Dumping. 

This item will vary according to the quantity excavated per day. 

Generally, one engine can hoist fifty per cent, more work than one 
can get for it to do. This was the case in this cutting, for sometimes 
one hundred and twenty cubic yards •would be taken out in a day of 
ten hours, whereas the average amount was sixty-five cubic j^ard?. 
The cost of hoisting was ten per cent., and included two men at Ihe 
derrick, one at the engine, and one man half of his time hooking on 
the boxes. 

The cost of the loading into the boxes was thirteen per cent., the 
pay of the men being $1.37 a day. 

If the teams for carting the rock are not specially suitable for the 
purpose, the cost will be materially increased, for when large stones 
are taken out considerable extra time is taken to load them. 

Tools, etc. 
This item includes everything necessary for removing the rock, 
such as steam drills, derricks, smith shops, etc. Cost twelve per cent. 

Superintendence, etc. 

The foreman cost six per cent. The water was taken care of I y 
parties outside of the cut. and can only be taken as approximative, 
viz. , twelve per cent. 

The cost of taking care of the water is not included in the summary 
below, and must be added to the sum total if used. Incidentals cost 
three per cent. So that the summary of the different items for the 
50,000 cubic yards will be as follows: — 

Cost of drilling 17 per cent. 



explosive . 
repairing tools . 
barring and loosing 
loading, hoisting, etc. 
tools, etc . 
superintendence 
incidentals 

Total . 



22 
5 

12 

23 

12 

(3 

3 

100 



It must be observed that a part of the rock in this cutting was 
peculiar in its formation, having no regular planes of cleavage, and 



36 

would not break economically. For instance, a blast of. one hundred 
cubic yards would only break into two pieces, in which case a larger 
amount of drijling was required to get it. into shape for proper hand- 
ling. The large quantity of this kind of rock materially increased 
the cost of the drilling, and especially of the explosives in this rock 
cutting. As stated in the first part of the paper, the conditions have 
considerable to do with any rock cutting, and one will find it economi- 
cal in some cases to do more drilling and. use less explosive, and at 
other times to use more explosive and. do less drilling, depending 
on the nature and position of the rock. 

Comparison between Steam and Hand Drilling. 

Steam drilling is equivalent to j)utting more men in the same face 
to drill, and as the work advances faster, the expenses are reduced. 
For instance, three men drilling will make on an average one and 
one quarter feet per hour, and a steam drill will make six feet an hour. 
The writer has himself drilled a hole (with a steam drill) sixteen feet 
deep, three and a half inches in diameter at the top, and one and 
three quarters inches diameter at the bottom, in three quarters of an 
hour. 

The cost of hand drilling over six feet in depth increases at a rapid 
rate, whereas steam drilling does not seem to increase much. The 
steam drilling has been as much as one hundred and thirty feet a day, 
and as low as twenty-five feet, due to the difference in the rock. 

The writer introduced a new method of cleaning out drill-holes, 
which saved considerable expense and time. The apparatus consists 
of a half-inch pipe ground sharp, and diminished one half its section 
at one end.' This pipe, with suitable couplings, one elbow, and a 
piece of non-conducting substance on the^ pipe so that the operator 
will not burn his hands, is connected with the steam pipe, and when 
a drill is being changed, is applied to the hole, and the steam let on 
and the hole cleaned. Previous to the use of this arrangement, the 
best time for drilling .a sixteen-foot hole was one hour and three quar- 
ters; afterward the same depth of hole could be drilled in an hour 
comfortably. 

The writer found that the cost of drilling holes say. three feet 
deep, was more by steam drilling than by hand. In drilling six feet, 
the cost was equal per foot of drilling, but the cost was twenty-five 
per cent, in favor of the steam drills for the rest of the work. Mak- 
ing comparisons from a large number of experiments in this rock, 
the cost of steam drilling was one third the cost of drilling by hand. 

^Aljourned.'] ' 

Geokge S. Kice, Secretary. 



TilE BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



(RECORD OF SPECIAL MEETI:N^G, MARCH, 1880.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Rostoi^, March 3, 1880. 

A special meeting of the Roston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Vice-President Joseph P. Davis in the chair, and 
twenty-nine members present (Austin, Rowditch, Rradford, Rray, 
Rrooks, Carr, Clarke, T. W. Davis, Eaton, Eitz Gerald, A. W. 
Forbes, Francis, Ftele}^, Fuller, Haskell, Howland, Jackson, Jones, 
Kimball, Leavitt, Lunt, Manley, May, McClintock, N"oyes, Philbrick, 
G. S. Rice, Shepard, Watson). 

Messrs. E. S. Philbrick, A. Fteley, C. Herschel, E. W. Rowditch, 
and Frederick Rrooks were appointed a committee to receive M. 
De Lesseps when he should visit Roston. 

The reading of the record of the last meeting and the transaction of 
business having been dispensed with, Mr. Eliot C. Clarke, Principal 
Assistant Engineer in charge of Improved Sewerage, gave a descrip- 
tion of the improved sewerage system of Roston, an abstract of 
which is as follows: — 

Main Drainage Works at Roston. 

EI.IOT C. CLARKE. 

The building of efficient sewer systems at Roston is hindered by 
certain difficulties incident to its situation, and to the general eleva- 
tion of its surface. Within the last century the size* of the city 
proper has more than doubled, by the filling of marsh and tide-water 
areas bordering its old limits. This made land has been filled to level 
planes little above mean high water, the streets traversing such dis 
tricts beini? never more than eioht feet above that elevation. A large 
proportion of the house basements and cellars are lower than high 
water, and many of them are but from five to eight feet above low- 
water mark, the mean rise and fall of the tide being ten feet. This 
lowness of land surface and of house cellars necessitates the placing 
of house drains and sewers at still lower elevations. Most house 
drains are under the cellar floors; they fall in reaching the street 



38 

sewers; the latter must be still lower, and in their turn fall towards 
their outlets, which are rarely much, if any, above low water. 

As a consequence, the contents of the sewers are dammed back by 
the tide during the greater part of each twelve hours. To prevent 
the water flowing into them, the sewers at their mouths are provided 
with tide-gates, which clos« as the sea rises, and exclude it. These 
tide-gates also shut in the sewage, which accumulates behind them, 
along the whole length of the sewer, as in a cesspool; and there 
being no current, deposits occur. The sewers are, in general, inade- 
quately ventilated, and the rise of sewage in them compresses the foul 
air which they contain and tends to force it into the house connec- 
tions. To afford storage room for the accumulated sewage, many of 
the sewers are very large; and as there would be no advantage in 
curved inverts where there is to be no current, flat-bottomed and rec- 
tangular shapes have been frequently adopted. 

Although at about the time of low water, the tide-gates open and 
the sewage escapes, the latter almost immediately meets the incoming 
tide, and is brought back by it, to form deposits upon the flats and 
shores about the city. Of the large amount of sewage which flows 
into Stony Brook and the Back Bay, and especially that which goes 
into South Bay, between Boston and South Boston, hardly any gets 
away from the vicinity of a dense population. 

For the ten years from 1864 to 1874 the average annual death-rate 
at Boston was about twenty-five in one thousand. On April 14, 1870, 
the consulting physicians of the city addressed to the authorities a 
remonstrance as to the then existing sanitary condition of the city, 
in which they declared the urgent necessity of a better system of 
sewerage, stating that it would be a work of time, of great cost, and 
the highest engineering skill. The State Board of Health, in each of 
their reports from 1868 to 1874, referred to the matter, saying that this 
question of drainage for Boston was of an importance which there 
was no danger of overstating. During the session of 1872, the State 
Legislature passed an Act authorizing the appointment by the city of 
a commission to investigate and report upon a comprehensive plan for 
a thorough sj^stem of drainage for the metropolitan district. In a 
communicafion to the City Council (Dec. 28, 1874), the City Board of 
Health pointed out the evils of the present sewer system, and urged 
that a radical change should be made. March 1, 1875, an order passed 
the City Council authorizing the mayor to appoint a commission, con- 
sisting of two civil engineers of experience and one competent per- 
son skilled in the subject of sanitary science, to report upon the 
present sewerage of the v,itj . . . and to present a plan for outlets 
and main lines of sewers, for the future wants of the city. 

The mayor thereupon appointed Messrs. E. S. Chesbrough, C. E., 
Moses Lane, C. E., and Charles F. Eolsom, M. D. In December, 



I 



39 

1875, these gentlemen made a report, stating what were the evils of 
the existing system of sewerage, which required a remedy, and rec- 
ommending the construction of intercepting sewers, whose contents 
should be pumped and conveyed to an outlet at Moon Island. 

A committee of the City Council, to whom this report was referred, 
recommended (June 12, 1876) that the commissioners' plan be adojpted ; 
and an appropriation of S40,000 was made for preliminary surveys 
'and investigations by the city engineer and the preparation of detailed 
plans and estimates. The preliminary survey occupied one year, 
until Juh', 1877. Aug. 9 of the same year, an order of the City Coun- 
cil was adopted authorizing the construction of an improved system 
of sewerage, and providing an appropriation of $3,713,000 to pay for 
the same. A short time thereafter, work began, and has been prose- 
cuted continually since, under the direction of Mr. Joseph P. Davis, 
city engineer. 

The general features of the plan adopted are: a sj'stem of inter- 
cepting sewers along the margins of the city, to receive the tlow from 
the already existing sewers; a main sewer into which the former 
empty, and which, crossing the city, leads to a pumping station 
at the sea-coast; pumping mjichinery, to raise the sewage about 
thirtj-five feet; an outfall sewer, partly in tunnel, leading from the 
pumping station to a reservoir at Moon Island, from which reservoir 
the sewage accumulated during the latter part of ebb and the whole 
of flood tide is to be let out into the harbor during the first two 
hours of the ebb tide. 

The extent of territory which it is proposed to treat on this com- 
prehensive system is that bounded by Boston Harbor, Charles and 
Keponset Kivers, — in all an area of about 58 square miles. Of this 
territory, however, about 46 square miles is high land, 40 or more 
feet above mean low water. It is expected that the drainage from 
areas above grade 40 will ultimately be intercepted by a " high-level " 
intercepting sewer and can flow by gravity to the reservoir at Moon 
Island, and the outfall sewer, from Squantum to the reservoir, is 
built of sufficient capacity to receive it. There remains 12 square 
miles below grade 40, which must forever drain into the " low-level " 
system, and whose sewage must be continually pumped. As, how- 
ever, it may be long before the high-level sewer is built, and in the 
mean time sewers from areas above grade 40 must connect with the 
low-level system, for purposes of calculation, it has been assumed 
that 15 square miles, or 9,600 acres, will be tributary to the proposed 
sewer. 

The present intercepting system, then, is designed to receive the 
sewage proper from 9,600 acres, and also a slight rainfall from the 
same district. The prospective population is estimated at an average 
of 621 individuals to each acre, or 600,000 in all. By the time this 



40 

limit is reached, the total population, including regions north of 
Charles Kiver and above grade 40, not tributary to the system, will 
be considerably over one million. While the estimate of 62^ persons 
to an acre has been used in calculations affecting the main sewer, 
for the branch intercepting sewers a much greater density, varying 
to suit expected movements of population, has been provided for. 
The amount of sewage contributed per individual has been estimated 
at 75 gallons, or 10 cubic feet, for each 24 hours. The maximum flow 
of sewage per second is taken as double the average flow due to 10 
cubic feet per day. 

A rainfall of -^%\ of an inch in 24 hours is to be received by the 
intercepting sewers, any excess beyond this amount being wasted. 
-^q\ is used instead of the usual j^-S- or ^ inch, simply for convenience 
in calculations, because it gives j^-^ inch in one hour and ^"^^^"^"^ = i 
cubic foot of water jDcr second nearly. The rain water which it is 
proposed to carry, therefore, is -yq%^- = 96 cubic feet j)er second, and 
the maximum quantity of sewage per second is ffx-^rx-e^ X 2 = 
138.77 cubic feet. The combined sewage and rain water to be carried 
by the main sewer at the time of maximum discharge is 234.77 cubic 
feet per second. For the branch intercepting sewers similar calcula- 
tions have been made. • 

All sewers are designed to flow about half full at the time of max- 
imum discharge. In calculating velocities, Mr. Kutter's formula has 
been used. The inclination of the main sewer is 1 in 2,500 ; that of 
the intercepting sewers varies from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 2,000. These 
inclinations will give velocities of from two to five feet per second, 
the less rate occurring in the smaller sewers during their minimum 
flow of sewage. Iron flushing gates are provided, at intervals of a 
mile or less, in the smaller sewers. Except a part of the West Side 
sewer, the bottoms of all are below mean low water ; at the pump- 
ing station that of the main sewer is thirteen feet below low water. The 
average depth of cutting required for the whole work is about twenty- 
two feet. Where two sewers join, the smaller enters at such a height, 
and the larger is so loweTed, that the required slope is maintained on 
the maximum flow-line of each. These junctions are always nlade 
by a bell-mouth connection, or intersection chamber, a sketch of one 
of them being shown in the plate. Iron penstocks are placed in 
each intercepting sewer just before it joins the main sewer, to con- 
trol the flow from each drainage district. 

It has been said that only a very small amount of rain is to be 
received and pumped. This is to be accomplished by placing auto- 
matic regulating gates at the connections with existing sewers. 
These gates, as the water rises, will close .sufficiently to maintain a 
nearly uniform discharge under greatly varying heads. During 
storms the excess of rain water, or of sewage largely diluted with 



41 

rain water, will overflow through the old outlets, which are to he 
retained and protected with double tide-gates. 

The main and intercepting sewers, from the upper portions of the 
latter to the pumping station, vary in size frcm three feet to ten feet 
six inches in diameter. The larger ones are circular ; but the smaller 
ones are generally egg-shaped, with the smaller end down where 
great variations in the flow are anticipated, and with the large circle 
as an invert where head room was desirable and there was need of 
keeping the flow-line as low as possible. In firm ground the earth is 
trimmed to receive the invert, and the sewers consist of a ring of 
brick-work; in looser material a cradle of ribs and inch boards is used; 
and in bad ground, which is more commonly met with in the made 
land on the margins of the city, where the sewers are chiefly located, 
a support consisting of a timber platform and rubble masonry side 
walls is necessary. For over a mile already built and for much of 
the remainder of the work, beds of mud are encountered and a 
foundation supported on piles is required. Sections of several of 
the sewers, illustrating these different kinds of foundation, are 
given in Figs. 1 to 9. Section 2 of the main sewer, 8 feet 5 iirches 
in diameter, which passed through clay, was built for 1,380 feet 
under Camden Street by tunnelling, with the top of the excavation 
thirteen feet below the surface of the street. Section 5 of the 
main sewer, 9 feet in diameter, which would have required an open 
cut about 40 feet deep, chiefly in ledge rock, was also built for 
about 1,800 feet by tunnelling. Section 4| of the same sewer is 
located where there were beds of mud, at one point about 100 
feet deep to hard bottom. As it would have been very diificult 
to build a stable sewer in such ground, over a portion of which tLe 
tide flowed, and utterly impossible to prevent its being destroyed 
when, as proposed, a street should be built over it, it was decided to 
build the street to its full grade and width, before attempting to 
construct the sewer. Over 100,000 yards of gravel were accordingly 
filled in, the mud partially displaced, and a surcharge put on top of 
the centre of the street, where the mud had been deepest, to hasten 
the compacting of ih^ filling. As a masonry structure would 
undoubtedly be broken when the trenches were refilled, a wooden 
sewer (Fig. 5) was adopted. This is now building by the city under 
its own superintendent, and consists of an external wooden shell 
formed of 4-inch spruce plank, 10 inches wide, every fourth plank 
being wedge-shaped; the whole securely spiked and treenailed to- 
gether, and to be finally lined with four inches of masonry. 

The depth of trench for this sewer is from 32 to 36 feet, and the 
pressures are so great as to require very heavy bracing. As many as 
60 braces of 8 inch X 8 inch and heavier timber have been used for a 
length of 18 feet of trench, and these when taken out were all found 



42 

to be either broken or so crippled as to be unfit to use again. It is 
found necessary to build the sewer with a vertical diameter greater 
by 4 inches than is required for the masonry lining, to allow for set- 
tlement, change of shape, and compression of the timber. Fre- 
quently the material on one side of the trench is found to be quite 
different from that on the other; and as very unequal pressures result, 
the sewer is braced internally to preserve, as far as possible, its true 
shape till the gravel filling shall have assumed a condition of perma- 
nent stability. 

Manholes, about 300 feet apart, are built into all the sewers. Gen- 
erall}^ they are placed on one side, as shown in the sketch, a cut stone 
skew-back being built into the masonry for them to rest upon. Occa- 
sionally they are placed over the centre of the sew^er, to facilitate the 
hoisting of material while cleaning. On very large sewers the man- 
holes are somewhat farther apart and cast-iron ventilator pipes are 
placed intermediately between them. Both manholes and ventilators 
are arranged so as to have catch-j)its at their tops for intercepting 
road detritus. Side entrances, reached by large openings in the side- 
walks and stone steps, are occasionally constructed. Facilities are 
also afforded in the large sewers for putting in and taking out boats. 

Most of the sewers thus far constructed have been built by con- 
tract and at very low prices. City inspectors are at all times on the 
ground, and a very good quality of work has been obtained. All 
materials used are examined and tested. Some 40,000 tests of cement 
have already been made. For the sewer arches, mortar made of Ros- 
endale cement 1^ to 1 is used ; for the inverts either Rosendale cement 
1 to 1, or English Portland 2 to 1: the latter, on account of its superior 
resistance to abrasion,. being preferred in the vicinity of flushing 
gates and penstocks. The rubble masonry, which is not coursed as 
might be supposed from the figures, is laid in Rosendale cement mor- 
tar 2 to 1, and the concrete consists of 1 part cement, 2 parts sand, and 
5 parts broken stone. 

The pumping station is situated at Old Harbor Point on Dorchester 
Bay. The main sewer in reaching it passes first through the filth- 
hoist, which is a structure consisting of fiv# chambers, in four of 
which are hung, so as to be raised and lowered by winches, open 
cages, through which the sewage flows and which retain floating 
objects which might injure the pumps. The complete design for the 
pumping station consists of an engine-house, two boiler-houses, and 
a coal-house, arranged on the sides of a square, enclosing a court- 
yard. They are to be of dimensions for containing eight engines, 
with their boilers and appurtenances. Only a portion of these build- 
ings will be erected at first, but they are -so designed as to readily 
admit of extension. The coal-house will be connected with a wharf 
for vessels and steamers, by an elevated tramway. 



43 

Four engines, each of a capacity to raise 25,000,000 gallons in 24 
hours to a maximum height of 43 feet, are to be first erected. Two of 
these are now building by the Quintard Iron Works, of New York, 
from designs by E. D. Leavitt, Jr., and it is expected that two will 
be built b}' Mr. Corliss, of Providence, from his own designs. A 
plate showing an elevation and plan of the Leavitt engine is given. 

" They are compound beam and fly-wheel engines, each working 
two single-acting plunger pumps. The steam cylinders are 15 feet 2 
inches apart, one over each end of the beam. The steam, as it flows 
from one cylinder to the other, passes through a reheater and is 
thoroughl}' dried. 

" In the design of these engines, particular attention has been given 
to the following conditions: — 

" Firat. The distribution of the weight of the engine, so as not to 
produce concentrated pressure upon any point of the foundations. 

" ISecoiul. Great strength in the details and combination of the 
parts, to render the liability of breakage a minimum. 

" Third. A propoi'tion of the wearing surfaces such as will allow 
of an uninterrupted running for extended periods with the least wear. 

" Fourth. Easy accessibility of all the parts for examination, re- 
pairs, and renewals. 

" Fifth. An adaptation of the pumps and their valves to the pecul- 
iar duty required of them, — i. e. ,to allow of the passage of rags, 
sticks, and such other small bodies as will not be detained by the filth 
hoist, — and in addition, a construction that will admit of the easy 
removal of an entire pump, or any of its parts, without disturbing 
any other prominent part of the engine. 

" Sixth. A high degree of economy in the consumption of coal. 

" The steam cylinders will be vertical and inverted, one high and 
one low pressure for each engine, with pistons connected to opposite 
ends of the beam. 

" The pumps will be hung underneath the engine bed-plates in deep 
masonry pits, and the plungers will be rigidly connected, by suita- 
ble rods, to the piston cross-heads. 

" The high-pressure piston, with its attached pump plunger, will 
make its upward stroke at the same time that the low-pressure piston 
and its plunger are making their downward stroke, and vice versa, thus 
producing a double action in the pumps. 

" There will be heavy cast-iron girders built into the masonrj^, 
forming the pump-pits and engine foundations, upon which, by means 
of adjusting screws, the entire weight of the pumps, or such pait 
thereof as may be deemed advisable, can be placed. These girders 
will also serve as a track upon which, by means of permanently 
attached wheels, the pumps may be run back to a position where they 
can be hoisted out of the pits without interfering with the fixed parts 
of the enoines." 



44 

" The pump-valves will be rubber flaps with wrought-iron backing 
and washer plates ; the rubber faces bearing on cast-iron seats inclined 
at an angle of 45°. Each valve will cover an opening 4^ inches X 
13^ inches. There will be 36 suction and 27 delivery valves in each 
pump. 

" The discharge from the pump under the high-pressure cylinder 
will pass through the delivery chamber of the other pump, to which 
other pump will also be connected a force main, forty-eight (48) 
inches diameter. 

" The pedestals for the main beam-pin will rest upon a central bed- 
plate, consisting of a transverse girder,, and be rigidly bolted to t^e 
beams of the engine bed-plate; thus making a pair of connected 
girders, resting at their ends upon the masonry piers of the foundation, 
and supported at the centre by the transverse central bed-plate. The 
ends of the transverse bed-plate girder Avill rest uj^on and be bolted 
to the central foundation piers. Suitable cast-iron hangers will con- 
nect the bed-plate girders with the upper chambers of the pumps. 

"The cylinders and the crank-shaft bearings, also the valve-gear, 
will be carried b}'' a massive' framing, consisting of an entablature 
supported on eight columns (for each engine), four of which will 
serve as guides for the piston cross-heads, and the other four as 
diagonal braces. The feet of the columns will be securely keyed and 
bolted to the bed-plates. The centre of the crank-shaft will be in the 
same vertical plane as the centre of the main beam-pin, and the con- 
nection from the beam to the crank will be from a horn cast on the 
upper flange of the beam, in such a position as to insure the proper 
vibration of the connecting rod. 

"The steam distribution will be eifected by gridiron slide valves, 
having a short horizontal movement, which will be imparted by 
revolving cams fixed on a horizontal shaft running along the bases 
of the cylinders and driven by suitable gearing from the crank-shaft. 
The cut-off will be adjustable, and controlled by a governor. 

" The cylinders will be thoroughly steam-jacketed on sides and ends, 
and the exhaust from the high-pressure on its way to the low-pressure 
cylinder will pass through reheaters filled with tubes containing either 
high-pressure or superheated steam. All heated surfaces to be 
thoroughly protected from radiation b}^ approved non-conductors and 
handsome black-walnut or mahogany jackets. 

" There will be suitable galleries of cast-iron plates, with wrought- 
iron polished stanchions, and brass hand-rails surrounding the entab- 
latures, to be reached by substantial iron stairs at either end of the 
engines. 

" There will also be iron floors between the engine bed-plates, and 
around the tops of the pumps; all to be furnished with finished brass 
hand-rails." 



45 

"The high-pressure cylinders will be bored 25^ inches, and the 
low-pressure cylinders 52 inches diameter, and the stroke of the pis- 
tons will be 9 feet. 

" The pump-plungers will be turned 48 inches diameter, and have a 
stroke of 9 feet. 

" The radius of the crank will be 4 feet; radius of beam to end cen- 
tres, 8 feet 3 inches; radius to centre for connecting-rod attachment, 
7feet 4 inches; distance, horizontally, between centres of steam cyl- 
inders, also between centres of pumps, to be 15 feet 2 inches. 
" Distance of engines apart from centre to centre, 18 feet. 
" Diameter of fly-wheel, 36 feet; weight of same, at least 36 tons. 
" The speed of the engines for capacity will be 11 revolutions per 
minute. 

" The condenser will be of the jet type, and salt water will be used. 
The air-pump will be double acting and horizontal, lined with brass, 
and fitted with rubber valves, working on brass gratings. 

" The working-boiler pressure will be 100 pounds per square inch 
(above the atmosphere). 

" The steam cylinders being directly over the pumps, and having a 
direct connection with them, very little work is transmitted through 
the beam, and in consequence the strains upon it and its pin are 
reduced to a minimum. 

" Each engine is to be connected with the outfall sewer by a 48-inch 
cast-iron force main." 

The outfall sewer may be divided into three sections: first, an 
elevated tank or deposit sewer, upon an embankment extending from 
near the pumping station for 1,200 feet into the bay and up to the 
shaft of the tunnel; second, the tunnel, 7,000 feet long, under 
Dorchester Bay; and third, another elevated sewer, 5,335 feet long, 
partly upon the main land at Squantum, but principally upon an 
embankment built across flats and channels separating Squantum 
from Moon Island. 

The tank sewer, to be built of concrete, consists of two separate 
conduits, each 8 feet wide and 16 feet high. The sewage can be made 
to flow through either, and as there will be a sluggish current, matters 
likely to form deposits in the tunnel will settle to the bottom, and 
being held by low dams, can be removed. A penstock at the farther 
end of this sewer will allow either or both compartments to be filled, 
and the accumulated sewage to be used for flushing the tunnel. 

The tunnel is reached by a vertical shaft at the end of the tank 
sewer, and is nearly horizontal, about 135 feet below low water, until 
near the Squantum shore, where it begins to rise on a grade of 1 in 
6 and appears above ground on Squantum Neck. It is believed 
that for its entire length the tunnel will pass through solid ledge, 
principally Eoxbury conglomerate and argillaceous slate rock. The 



46 

route was prospected by 120 artesian boring-s. The sewer is to be 
circular, 7-| feet internal diameter, with brick masonry walls 12 inches 
thick and backed with concrete. 

There are three vertical shafts, consisting of cast-iron cylindrical 
curbs lined with twelve inches of brick-work. These curbs are sunk 
to the rock in the case of two of the shafts, and in that of the third 
for about sixty feet into the ground, below which point, the curb 
refusing to go farther, the shaft was timbered by underpinning, and 
is to be finally lined with masonry. The top of each shaft is pro- 
tected by a timber bulkhead or crib, packed with clay and surrounded 
by the excavated rock. The contract i^rice for the completed tunnel, 
with its shafts, etc. , is about S57 per lineal foot. The four engines run- 
ning at full capacity can maintain a velocity in the tunnel of three 
and one half feet per second, which can be temporarily much increased 
by using the deposit sewer as a flushing tank,. 

The future high-level sewer will, it is supposed, join the outfall 
sewer at the farther end of the tunnel at Squantum. From this 
point, therefore, the outfall sewer is built of enlarged capacity, being 
11 feet high by 12 feet wide, with slightly curved bottom and sides 
and a circular arch, its grade being about 13 feet above low water, and 
its inclination 1 in 2,500. Its length up to the reservoir is somewhat 
over a mile, and for four fifths of this distance it is supported and 
covered by an earth embankment, ballasted and riprapped on its 
slopes. This sewer is to be tied through its arch and under its invert 
with iron bars, to guard against slight movements, before the bank 
under and around it shall have become compacted. 

The reservoir covers about five acres of Moon Island, and is so 
situated that it can be conveniently enlarged if desired. It is con- 
structed almost entirely in excavation, is bounded by retaining walls 
of rubble masonry, and is divided into four parts by three division 
walls of the same class of masonrj-. It has a concrete floor, with 
paved gutters, at about the elevation of mean high water. It has no 
roof, but as a precaution, foundation blocks are to be set in the floor, 
to support columns, in case it should at any time be found necessary 
to cover it. 

The sewage enters the reservoir from the outfall sewer, which is 
carried along one side of it; it is discharged through two discharge 
sewers on the same side, beneath the outfall sewer. These discharge 
sewers finally connect with eight square box sluiceways, which are 
enclosed by a pier extending 300 feet out from the island into the 
channel, so that the sewage will discharge under water. Suitable 
iron gates worked by hydraulic pressure Avill allow the sewage to 
enter and leave the reservoir, the discharge taking place during the 
first two hours after high water. At this time a strong current sets 
outward by the end of the pier, and the sewage will be carried by it 
well outside of the inner harbor. 



47 

It will probably be so diluted as to be entirely inoffensive; but such 
as it is, it will return with the flood tide about half way towards the 
city, and with the next ebb will be carried entirely outside, not again 
to enter the harbor. This belief is founded upon a great nunil)er of 
experiments conducted during the preliminary survey. Pole floats, 
14 feet long, were put into the water at various points in the harbor 
and at different stages of the tide, and were followed by boats for 
from 6 to 48 hours. The movement of these floats is thought to 
fairly indicate the probable movement of the sewage; but the latter 
will doubtless be rapidly oxj^dized, or will be assimilated by the 
myriad animal organisms which pervade the sea. 

As was to be expected, there has been a certain amount of ojDposi- 
tion to the scheme. It has been said that to throw the sewage into 
the sea is wasteful; that it ought to be utilized in some Way, and 
might even be made a source of profit. But since this has been tried 
so thoroughly in Europe by the ablest engineers and chemists, and 
even under the most favorable conditions no method of disposal has 
yet been devised which repays the cost of treatment, it would seem to 
be the height of folly for Boston, with unfavorable conditions, to 
undertake a costly experiment which has elsewhere alwa3"s signally 
failed. 

Again, it has been feared by some persons that so large a body of 
sewage, put into the harbor at one point, maycause dangerous deposits 
in its channels. But the sewage of the city has been flowing into the 
harbor for a century, and no trace of it can be found in any of the 
channels. The present currents which maintain the channels are not 
to be interfered with in any way; and it is highly improbable that so 
light a siubstance as sewage, bearing about the same relation to water 
that feathers do to air, will deposit and remain in the currents which 
sweep through the channels. Doubtless some deposit will occur upon 
flats surrounding the islands in the harbor, precisely where deposits of 
mud and silt are at present slowly accumulating ; but the addition will 
probably be so slight as to be inoffensive, and at the worst it is a far 
better place to put it than, as at present, in the immediate vicinity of 
population. 

Mr. E. W. Bowditch. — It has been reported that certain U. S. 
engineers have expressed a fear that the proposed works may injure 
the harbor channels. Is it true that they have done so? 

Mr. Clarke. — ]N'ot within my knowledge. We have discussed 
our scheme freely with several U. S. engineers, and never heard any 
forebodinos of damage to the harbor. 

Mr. E. S. Philbrick. — Two objections have been urged against 
the plans now in progress of execution for the main sewerage system 
of Boston. 



48 

First. That the sewage will be deposited in the lower harbor and 
obstruct the channels. 

Second. That its value will be wasted, while it might be saved by 
utilization. 

I have been connected for several years past with the work lately 
done by the Massachusetts Harbor Commissioners in our harbor, 
and would say that all the information gathered by that board and by 
the successive surveys of the Coast Survey, through Messrs. Whiting 
and Mitchell, points to the establishment of this fact, viz., that the 
scour of the ebb tide is sufficient to keep all the channels clear in the 
lower harbor, and that no deposit has occurred there below the 
" upper middle " shoal. There has, however, been a deterioration 
in the upper harbor, above Castle Island narrows, arising from the 
conflicting currents of the ebb tide: one current coming southward 
from Charles and Mystic Elvers and debouching into the upper harbor 
between East Boston and Long Wharf, another coming northivard 
from Fort Point Channel and debouching in the same basin. The 
conflict of these currents tends to diminish the velocity of the ebb, 
and so favors deposits here. This tendency is aggravated, of course, 
by the quantity of solid matter in suspension. At present we have 
all the sewage of Boston delivered above the basin referred to, while 
after the finishing of the system of intercepting sewers it will be sen- 
sibly diminished. 

As to the utilization of Boston sewage: while referring to the 
economical failure of similar schemes at many English towns, I 
would call attention to the fact that our sewage is diluted by at least 
twice as much water as that in most English towns. We not only 
have a more copious rainfall than in England, that of London being 
five eighths the rainfall of Boston, but our people are accustomed to 
use much more water per head of population than is given to the people 
of European towns. Both of these facts tend to encumber the sewage 
with an amount of dilution which would seriously aifect the economy 
of any scheme of utilization. The only plan for utilizing sewage 
with any approach to an. economical result in Europe is that of 
irrigation. We must remember that the sewage farm must be made 
to take all the sewage from the district allotted to it at all times; and 
that although the crops may be benefited by it in dry weather, when 
the flow is smallest, the}'- are likely to get more -than is good for them 
in a rainy period, when they need it least. This point offers a serious 
obstacle to the economy of all sewage farms, and renders imperative 
the most thorough and perfect deep underdrainage of the land 
devoted to irrigation. 

Mr. Jos. P. Da vis. — During the'past two or three years it has 
been frequentl}^ stated, in communications to the newspapers, that, as 
the sewage of the city is a valuable fertilizer, to throw it into the sea 



49 

is a shameful waste, and that to discharge it at Moon Ishmd would 
prove ruinous to the harbor. 

Without entering into the general question of sewage disposal, I 
desire to say a few words upon these points ; and first I will call your 
attention to the opinions of a number of eminent English authorities. 
I have here a pamphlet containing a paj^er by Messrs. Redgrave and 
Shelf ord on Sewage Utilization, read in 1876, at a meeting of the 
Institution of Civil Engineers, and the discussion which followed. 

Gen. Scott, who has spent much time and talent in develojnng 
methods of utilizing sewage, says, " During the last three or four 
years a great change has taken jjlace in the views of town councils, 
with reference to the disposal of sewage matter. They formerly 
believed that they had in sewage a material which was salable at a 
profit; but they had now discovered not only that it was valueless, but 
they must be at considerable expense in removing it. The first 
question he should ask, if consulted as to the best mode of getting rid 
of water-carried sewage, would be, ' Are you near enough to the sea 
to ^et rid of it in that way? ' " 

Mr. Abernethy, vice-president of the society, said, " He had not 
yet had the pleasure of reading Sir John Hawkshaw's report on the 
disposal of the sewage of Glasgow ; but if it was correctly described 
in a leading article in 'The Standard' of the 3d of April, 1876, he 
must congratulate Sir John Hawkshaw on the bold way in which he 
grappled with the subject, viz., by discharging the sewage of that 
city into deep water at Farland Head, far beyond the embouchure of 
the Eiver -Clyde." 

Sir John Hawkshaw, in his plan for disposing of the sewage of 
Glasgow, which now empties into the Clyde, proposes a system of 
intercepting sewers, two on each side of the river, a high level and 
low level, which come together at Whiteinch, three and one half 
miles below Glasgow. From here the plan provides an outfall sewer, 
thirteen feet in diameter and twenty-seven miles long, ending on the 
coast at Farland. The estimated cost of the entire work is $12,500,- 
000; annual cost of maintenance, $540,000. 

Proceeding with the discussion, Mr. Lemon said, " He agreed with 
Gen. Scott that the best thing to be done with sewage Avas to throw 
it away; that it was no longer to be looked upon as something to 
make money out of, but must be got rid of as quickly as possible." 

Mr. Eussell Aitken remarked, through the secretary, '' that he had 
been for some years engineer for the city of Bombay, where, as usual 
in Indian cities, the night-soil was collected by hand. He was ear- 
nestly pressed to adopt various projects for the so-called utilization of 
sewage, such as irrigation, etc. He, however, adhered to his plan for 
throwing it into the sea." 

Of course other engineers who took part in the discussion held differ- 



50 

ent views ; but the high professional standing and experience of those 
I have quoted, give great weight to their opinions. Sir Josej^h 
Bazalgette, the engineer of the London sj'steni of intercepting 
sewers, of course defended the empt^dng of the London sewage into 
the Thames, as preferable on account of cost to any system of utiliza- 
tion. 

Much has been said about the utilization of the sewage of Boston 
by irrigation ; but no definite plan has ever been proposed, and. of 
course no estimate of cost has been made. 

Taking the average of English practice, it would require nearly 
9,000 acres of land, or a whole township, to dispose of the sewage of 
this city by irrigation. No such quantity of land for the purpose is 
to be had in this vicinity ; and if it were, the experiment would be on 
too gigantic a scale to be tried at the public expense. No one who 
would be held responsible for its success would dare to recommend it. 

Our water consumption is already about 25,000,000 gallons per day ; 
and this in the form of sewage must be taken care of day and night, 
as it is delivered through the sewers. Such a volume is equal to the 
summer flow of the Charles Eiver at Newton; during rain storms it 
would be more than doubled. 

As costly and difficult as it would be to dispose of the sewage in 
other ways, yet if discharging it at tide-water will, as is claimed, ruin 
the harbor, some or one of those ways should be adopted. 

Let us consider this point a moment. First, what is to be thrown 
into the harbor that can do it permanent harm? 

In the Fourth Report of the State Board of Health, a tab.le is given 
which shows that from thirty-three day samples of Boston sewage, 
37.34 par;ts in 100,000 could be filtered out, — that is, were in suspen- 
sion; and that in four night samples there were 7.9 parts of solids in 
100,000. If we take the night flow at one fourth of the total for the 
twenty-four hours, we shall find an average of thirty parts of sus- 
pended matter in 100,000 parts of sewage. Of these, probably not 
more than fifteen parts are mineral. In a daily discharge of 25,000,000 
gallons there would be then only fifteen tons of indestructible matter. 
But in the plan adopted, means are provided to arrest nearly all, it not 
all of this material, before it reaches the outlet. The heavier material 
will refuse to be pumped, and must be removed from the sewer and 
pump-wells by hand. The pumps deliver into a deposit sewer 
having a length of about 1,200 ft et, the flow through which will be 
very sluggish. Here, all but the lightest matter — all but the dust, 
so to call it — will deposit and be removed, special facilities for its 
removal being provided. After passing from here through the tunnel 
and outfall sewer, it is stored during the time of one tide in the reser- 
voir, where further dej)0sit will take place. It is the intention to 
sweep into the sea the matter which will settle in the reservoir; but 



51 

should this do harm, which is not at all probable, it can be retained 
and removed by hand. 

Undoubtedly sewage matter will be stranded to some extent upon 
the flats about the islands in the lower harbor ; but there it can do 
comparatively little harm, and it is hoped that wave action will pre- 
vent its doing any. 

No deposits can remain in the channels of the harbor, for there is 
to be no interference with the tidal currents; and these currents now 
maintain the channels, although much solid material from the dis- 
charge of the rivers and from other sources finds its way through 
them. 

In the Fourth Annual Report of the State Board of Health, referring 
to the discharge of sewage by the existing system of sewers, through 
numerous outlets around the margin of the city, the following state- 
ment is made : " It is asserted that the discharge of sewage into tide- 
water contributes to the shoaling of the harbor. These objections are 
unfounded: it is true that a deposit takes place in the docks into 
which the sewers empty, and necessitates occasional dredging; as 
regards its influence on the harbor, the Harbor Commissioners ' find 
no proof whatever of injury from the discharge of sewage. It is 
effectually and completely dispersed, and no trace of it is found in 
any bars or shoals outside of the docks or wharves.' " 

[Acljourned.'] 

GEORGE S. RICE, Secretary. 






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CITY OF BOSTON 

SECTION S OF 

INTERCEPTING SEWERS 

1880. 





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SCALE OF FEET. 



SCALE OF METRES. 




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5CALE or MILES. 

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SCAiLE OF KtLOh/IETERS. 




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53 



(RECORD OF AXNUAL MEETIXG, MARCH, 1880.) 

Wesley AN Hall, Boston, March 17, 1880. 

The annual meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. Henry Manley in the chair, and seventeen 
members present (Blodgett, Bradley, Brooks, T. ^V. Davis, A. W. 
Forbes, Hardy, Herschel, Howe, Howland, Lunt, May, Noyes, G. S. 
Rice, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Shepard, Wightman). The record of the 
preceding regular meeting was accepted, and Mr Charles S. Parsons 
was proposed for membership by Messrs. George S. Rice and AVil- 
liam Jackson. Mr. Thomas Aspinwall was elected a member of the 
society. A letter from the treasurer was read, stating that he was to 
leave Boston, and consequently was not a candidate for re-election. 

The reports of the treasurer and government were read and 
accepted. 

After an informal ballot, the society elected the officers for the 

ensuing year, as follows: — 

« 

President, Joseph P. Davis. 
Vice-President, Edwakd S. Philbkick. 
Secretary, Geokge S. Rice. 
Treasurer, Henry Manley. 
Librarian, Feedeeick Brooks. 

Mr. Wm. H. Bradley, by a vote, was appointed auditor. 

The special committees of the society, with the exception of the 
vacancies in the Library and Metric Committees occasioned by the 
withdrawal of Mr. Herschel, were continued, and Mr. C. W. Folsom 
was elected to fill the vacancy in the Library Committee. An assess- 
ment of S5.00 w^as ordered to be levied on the active members, and 
$150 was appropriated for printing the records of the meetings. 

On the motion of Mr. Wightman, the Government was ordered to 
present a definite report on the subject of establishing a prize for the 
best essay read before the society during the year, as recommended 
in the Report of the Government. 

It was voted that " The Committee on the Metric System shall 
gather from time to time, and present to the society all attainable 
information relative to the progress toward the introduction of the 
metric system into this country and the world at large," and Mr. C. 
W. Lunt was elected to fill the vacancy in that committee. 

It was also voted that the remaining committees of the society have 

their powers continued. 

[Adjourned.'] 

GEO. S. RICE, Secretary. 



THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETI:N'G, APRIL, 1880.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, ^pril 21, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, President Joseph P. Davis in the chair, and twenty- 
eight members present (Brackett, Bradford, Bradley, Bray, Brooks, 
Carson, Clarke, Crafts, T. W. Davis, Fitz Gerald, Folsom, French, 
Fteley, Fuller, Hovvland, Johnson, Jones, Kettell, Learned, Leavitt, 
Lunt, Manley, Noyes, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Shepard, Tinkham, 
"Whitney). 

In the absence of the secretary, Mr. S. E. Tinkham was elected sec- 
retary loro temiwre. 

A letter from Mr. Geo. S. Rice was received, asking to be relieved 
of the duties of secretary, in consequence of removal from this section 
of the country. On motion of Mr. Brooks the resignation was ac- 
cepted; and it was unanimously voted; " That the thanks of the society 
be tendered Mr. Rice for the able and faithful manner in which he 
has performed the duties of secretary of this society." 

The record of the last meeting, as printed, was approved. 

On motion of Mr. Clarke, it was voted; " That the thanks of the 
society be tendered Mr. Geo. H. Frost, proprietor of 'Engineering 
i^ews,' for the use of the plates required in printing the last report 
of the proceedings of the society." 

On motion of Mr. Bradley, a committee of three was appointed to 
nominate a secretary, to be reported at the next meeting. Messrs. 
Bradley, Kettell, and Folsom were appointed as that committee. 

On motion of Mr. Manley, it was voted; " That the treasurer be au- 
thorized to deposit the funds of the society in the Union Safe Deposit 
Vaults." 

A communication was read from the American Society of Civil 
Engineers, extending an invitation to the members of this society to 
attend its Twelfth Annual Convention, to be held at St. Louis, May 
25, 1880. On motion of Mr. Bradley, it was voted; " That the thanks ot 
the society be communicated to the American Society of Civil Engi- 
neers for its kind invitation to attend the convention." 



56 

Mr. Charles S. Parsons was elected a member of the society. 
Mr. A. Fteley, Chief Assistant City Engineer of Boston, gave, as 
the entertainment of the evening, a description of the Charles Eiver 
Bridge on the Sudbury River conduit, an abstract of which is as fol- 
low^s : — 

CHAELES RIVER BRIDGE. 
Boston Water Works. — Sudbury Eiver Supply. 

This structure carries the Sudbury River conduit across the valley 
of Charles River from the Needhani shore to Newton Upper Falls, near 
Boston. Commenced in the fall of 1875, it was finished early in 1877. 
It was so located as to unite the advantages of being built on a straight 
line, of spanning the river where its bed is the narrowest, and of inter- 
fering as little as possible with the houses on the JSTewton shore. 

The bridge, built of granite, is composed of seven arches; it starts 
from the Needham shore with a nearly semicircular arch of eighteen 
feet radius, spans the river with an arch of one hundred and thirty 
feet opening, and is supported on the Newton side by four very nearly 
semicircular arches of thirty-six feet span, and by a flat segmental arch 
twenty-eight feet in span over Ellis Street. The connection between 
the bridge and the shore is made by two terminal structures supported 
by retaining walls. 

The bridge is wholly built on conglomerate rock,, and consequently 
the foundations did not present any serious difficulties; the shores on 
both sides being very steep, the rock was cut in steps on which the 
masonry is built. On the Newton shore, however, at the base of the 
abutment of the large arch, the rock was disintegrated; and although, 
by sounding, it was found more reliable at a depth of several feet from 
the surface, it remained very doubtful whether such material could 
successfully support the heavy pressure due to the weight of the 
superincumbent structure and to the thrust of the arch. To overcome 
this difficulty, the base of the arch was made twenty-two feet in width, 
while its top is only eighteen feet; the transverse view of the arch 
thus presents a batter, which has the advantage of presenting a more 
graceful appearance. The load on the foundation is further distributed 
by some courses of heavy stepping-stones laid below the lowest vous- 
soirs, and is reduced to eleven and one half tons per square foot; at the 
lowest voussoir the load is twenty-five tons per square foot. 

The depth of the key-stone of the large arch is five feet, and 
increases gradually to the lowest voussoir, which is six feet in depth. 
The size of the key-stone exceeds the- pro[>ortions generall}^ found in 
practice, or determined by the best recommended empirical formulae; 
but it must be remembered that the load to be carried by this arch is 
much larger than usual, being over nine tons per running foot. The 
horizontal thrust of the ^rch at the crown, when the conduit is full, is 



57 

15 7 tons per square foot, and the curve of pressure barely remains 
within the middle third of^the figure enclosed by the extrados and 
the intrados of the arch. 

The frame for the support of this arch during construction contained 
over 50,000 feet of timber, and required some care. The river being 
only some ten feet deep at high-water mark, it was desirable, in order 
to reduce the cost of the frame, to support it on upright posts placed 
directly on the bottom which, although formed of shingle and gravel, 
was thought to be sutiiciently firm for the purpose. Fifty hard-pine 
posts 10" X 12", in five rows often each, were erected on heavy timber 
sills; the two outer rows nearest the abutments were placed partly on 
hard bottom, partly on a foundation of concrete. The sills supporting 
the three central rows of posts, which had to carry the heaviest load, 
were adjusted by successive trials into a groove roughly cut in the upper 
surface of heavy stones placed side by side and carefully bedded in the 
gravel of the bottom, thus forming for each row of posts a foundation 
twenty-four feet long and five feet wide. During this operation, as well 
as during the erection of the posts, the water was lowered to within one 
foot of the bottom. The upright posts, properly capped, supported 
five trusses and the weight of the arch was transmitted to the former 
through radial struts, twenty-seven in number for each truss, directly 
connected with the ribbing and placed at equal intervals. Each truss 
reposed on six screws four inches in diameter (thirty screws in all), 
which facilitated the adjustment of the centring to its exact form, and 
were afterwards used to great advantage for striking it. The upright 
posts, sills, and main capping were of hard pine; the rest of the timber 
was spruce; a very few bolts were used; the lagging was four inches in 
thickness. 

A settlement of the arch and of its supporting frame was to be 
expected during construction, on account of the slightly yielding nature 
of the foundation of the frame, and on account of the numerous timber 
joints whicj would unavoidably close up under the weight of the arch; 
owing to the large number of pieces in the frame and to the oak 
blocks used to support the diverging struts, there were no less than 
fourteen joints in the central vertical support, which was some 75 feet 
high from its sill in the bottom of the river to the crown of the arch. 
In order to lessen the settlement due to this cause, the frame was 
made with much care, and the various members, which were all work- 
ing under compression, were so proportioned as to be subjected to a 
maximum strain of six hundred pounds per square inch only. 

In addition to the causes of settlement already mentioned, it was to 
be expected that the arch would slightly settle after the removal of its 
supports. 

The centring was erected true to the circle of the arch: and as a 
compensation for the expected settlement, a furring of wooden strips, 



58 

two inches thick in the centre and diminishing gradually to nothing at 
the haunches of the arch, was spiked to the ribbing and the lagging 
was placed on it. 

As the arch was being built up, the settlement took place gradually; 
but it was, in proportion to the thickness of the furring, more consider- 
able at the haunches than at the crown. Wben the voussoirs were laid 
on each side within twenty-eight feet of the centre, the frame at these 
points had settled .05 foot; after Ihe arch was keyed, the settlement at 
the centre was equal to two inches, and the key-stone stood then at its 
true elevation. 

After the centring was struck, the additional settlement was equal 
to .05 foot. This last settlement, larger than anticipated, was mainly 
due to the fact that the centring was struck when the cement of the 
last joints, at the crown and in its vicinity, was yet imperfectly set, it 
having been found advisable on account of the severity of the season 
not to delay the striking any longer. The arch stands consequently 
about five eighths of an inch lower at the crown thiin was originally 
calculated. Ko change in the elevation at the crown seems to take 
place under the influence of cold or heat. 

It had been provided in the contract that the arch should be loaded 
with stones if found necessary during construction, and it was intended 
that the spandrel-walls should be built only after the arch had settled 
to its final position. Owing to various circumstances, the lower por- 
tion of the outer spandrel-walls had to be built before striking the 
frame and after that operation took place, a small fracture appeared at 
the extrados of the arch at its contact with the built portion of the 
spandrel. These joints were afterwards as thoroughly pointed inside 
and outside as was practicable; the filling inside of the structure, how- 
ever, took ])lace only after the arch had reached its final position. 

All the outer parts of the bridge below the conduit are made of cut 
stone and all the arches are made of cut voussoirs laid with close 
joints. For the large arch, the gradual increase in depth of the 
voussoirs from the key-stone to the springing line, added to the 
curved batter of the sides, rendered the cutting of these stones pecul- 
iarly difficult, as the four horizontal arrises of each voussoir were of 
different lengths and all the stones on either face of the structure were 
different from one another; the work, however, was very well executed 
and although the stones were all cut at the quarry, none of them were 
found wrongly cut. The key-stones themselves, against the instruc- 
tions given, came fully cut and were dropped into their places without 
further trimming. 

The conduit carried on the bridge is nine feet wide inside and seven 
feet eight inches ,in height, built of solid brick masonry with the 
exception of a vertical air space, two inches wide, left in each side- 
wall and connected with the drains inside of the structure. The brick 



59 

side-walls are three feet seven inches thick, and are calculated to 
support the thrust of the covering arch and the pressure of the water 
against the sides of the conduit when full. 

Under the conduit, three longitudinal brick galleries are built to 
receive the leakage from it, if an}^ occur, and to conduct it to the out- 
side; these galleries are sufficiently large to be used for the purpose of 
examining the inside of the bridge; the extrados of the arches and the 
filling of their haunches are covered with a coal-tar concrete, which 
prevents moisture from penetrating through the masonry and leads it 
outside through weepers cut in each pier. 

The inside of the conduit is lined with a coat, three eighths of an 
inch thick, of ordinary cement mortar, over which is applied a layer 
of pure Portland cement; this lining, although not very smooth, has 
the eflect of increasing the flowing capacity of the conduit (for equal 
sections) to seven or eight per cent more than when the brick surface 
remains exposed. 

In answer to a. question by Mr. J. P. Davis : — 

In other }")arts of the line of the Sudbury River conduit, the inside 
has been covered with a wash of Portland cement applied with a 
brush; this operation, although covering the brick surface with a mere 
film of cement, adds two per cent to the flowing capacity of the 
conduit. This cement wash has been applied wherever the conduit is 
built on high embankments to prevent the percolation of the water 
through the brickwork and it has answered a very good purpose; at a 
point where the percolation had been found equal to 35,000 gallons per 
mile per day it was almost entirely stopped by this method. 

In answer to a question by Mr. H. A. Carson: — 

A very fine crack, sometimes hardly perceptible, has been observed 
in the cement lining of the conduit at the crown over the large arch 
of Charles River bridge, apparently larger over the centre and dis- 
appearing near the abutments; it may be due to the cement lining 
itself, or possibly to the action of the temperature on the arch. 

The total length of the bridge is 475 feet between tiie terminal 
chambers; the radius of the intrados of the large arch is 69 feet. 

There was, at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, in the 
French department of public works, the model of a stone bridge which 
it may be interesting to mention here, as the dimensions of its single 
arch are very similar to those of the large arch of Charles River bridge. 
It is a part .of a highway at Saint Sauveur, and spans the Gave de Pau. 
The arch springs from the ledge on both sides. The centring was 
supported in the middle by a square frame reposing on the rocky bot- 
tom of the stream, some 220 feet below the crowai of the arch; at the 
sides it was supported on the rock. The ring stones are cut, but the 
rest of the arch is built of rubble stone laid in Yassy cement; the 
spandrel-walls are made of limestone laid in lime mortar, with an 
addition of one tenth of Yassy cement. 



60 



CHARLES RIVER 
BRIDGE. . 



SAINT SAUVEUR 
BRIDGE. 



Load .... 
Span . . 

Total width . 

Depth of key-stone 
Number of trusses 

Mode of centring 

Amount of settlement^ 
due to striking cen- >■ 
tres . . . .) 

Mode of striking . 

\_Adjourned.'] 



Heavy conduit 

130 feet . 

18 feet at top 

22 feet at bottom 

5 feet 

Five 



.05 foot . 
Jack-screws 



Roadway and road travel. 
137 feet. 

16 feet. 

4. 75 feet. 

Four. 
C Heavier than for Charles 
\ River bridge. 

.016 foot. 

Jack-screws. 

S. E. TINKHAM, 

Secretary pro tern. 



61 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEET^G, MAY, 18S0.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, May 19, ISSO. 

A regular meetino^ of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. Wm. H. Bradley in the chair and fifteen 
members present (Brooks, Carson, T. W. Davis, Eaton, A. W. 
Forbes, French, Howland, Lunt, Manley, W. R. Nichols, Parsons, 
L. F. Rice, Sampson, Tinkham, Whitney). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The entertainment of the evening consisted of reports on matters 
of interest in some of the periodicals taken by the society, as follows: — 

Mr. Clarence W. Lunt read extracts from *' Van Nostrand's Engi- 
neerino^ Magazine," and called attention to the following articles in 
the twenty-second volume: — 

1880, February. — Pneumatic Foundations, Description of an Im- 
proved Closing Port for the Discharge in Lock. 
May. — A New Metallic Compound. Spence's Metal. 

Mr. A. H. French called attention to the following articles in the 
one hundred and eighth and one hundred and ninth volumes of the 
Journal of the Franklin Institute: — 

1879, August. — Computation of the Moment of Inertia of a Girder 

by Rectangular Components. 
Road Making. 
September. — The Flexible Shaft. 

Accidents in Deep Mines. 
October. — On the Strength of American Timber. 
November. — Patent Metal Jacket and Movable Boiler Cover- 
ing. 
December. — A New Theory of the Retaining Wall. 

1880, January.— Manufacture of Saws. 

Locomotive Spark Arresters. 
Iron Bridges. 
February. — Shearing Strengths of American Wood. 
April. — Naval Architecture. 
Mr. L. F. Rice gave an account of the failure of the roof of the 
Madison Square Garden, New York, as reported in the "Railroad 
Gazette " and " American Architect." • 

[Adjourned.^ 

S. E. TINKHAM, 

Secretary pro tern. 



THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



(EECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, JU:N'E, 1880.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, June 16, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. Frederick Brooks in the chair, and thirteen 
members present (Curtis, T. W. Davis, Doane, A. W. Forbes, Fuller, 
Howland, Kettell, Learned, McClintock, Koyes, L. F. Rice, Sampson, 
Tin k ham). 

The record of the last meeting, as printed, was approved. 

A communication was received from Mr. W. E. Pettee, civil 
engineer and surveyor, of Lakeville, Conn., suggesting to the Society 
the importance of having issued a work on '" Law and Practice for 
Land Surveyors in the New England States." The secretary was in- 
structed to acknowledge the receipt of the letter, and further action 
was postponed to the next regular meeting. 

Mr. Brooks called the attention of the members to the advantages to 
be derived from making the Society's library more accessible, and 
suggested that some steps be taken to enable the books to be circu- 
lated among the members. On motion of Mr. Davis, the question of 
circulating the books of the library was referred to the government. 

It was voted that the next regular meeting be held on the third 
Wednesday in September. 

Mr. Thomas Doane gave an account of the Northern Pacific Rail- 
road and its territory, an abstract of which is as follows : — 

N'ORTHERN Pacific Railroad and its Territoiiy. 

"An Act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and 
telegraph line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound, on the Pacific 
Coast, by the northern route," was passed by Congress and approved 



64 

by Abraham Lincoln, July 2, 1864. The Act designated the name, 
style, and title of the company to build said railroad and telegraph as 
the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. 

Certain persons, citizens of several States and Territories, whose 
names are rehearsed in. the Act, were appointed commissioners, and 
were called the " Board of Commissioners of the Northern Pacific 
Eailroad Company." Fifteen of said commissioners were to consti- 
tute a business quorum, and the first meeting of said Board was to be 
held at Melodeon Hall, in the city of Boston, at such time as any five 
commissioners herein named from Massachusetts shall appoint, not 
more than three months after the passage of the Act. 

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company then was organized in 
Boston, not far from the place where we are now met. 

The " said corporation was authorized and empowered to lay out, 
locate, construct, furnish, maintain, and enjoy a continuous railroad 
and telegraph line, with the appurtenances, namely, beginning at a 
point on Lake Superior, in the State of Minnesota or Wisconsin, 
thence westerly by the most eligible railroad route, as shall be 
determined by said company, within the territory of the United States, 
on a line north of the forty-fifth degree of latitude, to some point on 
Puget Sound, with a branch, via the valley of the Columbia River, to 
a point at or near Portland, in the State of Oregon, leaving the main 
trunk line at the most suitable place, not more than three hundred 
miles from its western terminus." 

The capital stock of said company was made to consist of " 1,000,000 
shares of $100 each." 

Under Section 2 of said Act, " the right of way through the public 
lands was granted to said Northern Pacific Railroad Company, its suc- 
cessors and assigns, for the construction of a railroad and telegraph as 
proposed, and the right, power, and authority was thereby given to 
said corporation to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of 
said road material of earth, stone, timber, and so forth, for the con- 
struction thereof, and said way was granted to said railroad to 
the extent of two hundred feet in width on each side of said rail- 
road, where it may pass through the public domain, including all 
necessary ground for station buildings, workshops, depots, machine 
shops, switches, side tracks, turn tables, and water stations, and the 
right of way was exempted from taxation within the Territories of the 
United States." 

" The United States were to extinguish, as' rapidly as may be con- 
sistent with public policy and the welfare of the said Indians, the 
Indian titles to all lands falling under the operations of the Act, and 
acquired in the donation to the road named in the bill." 

The grant of land made to aid in the construction of the railroad 
and telegraph consisted, in the States, of every odd-numbered sec- 



65 

tion, or square mile, on each side, within twenty miles of the line of 
road the company might adopt, and within the Territories of every 
odd-numbered section on each side, within forty miles of the line of 
road adopted; and wherever within these limits the government should 
otherwise have disposed of the odd-numbered sections, other odd-num- 
bered sections of land were to be selected by the company in lieu 
thereof, not more than ten miles beyond the twenty and forty miles' 
limit. " Mineral lands," except iron and coal, were reserved to the 
government, and it was " provided further that no money (should) be 
drawn from the treasury of the United States to aid in the construc- 
tion of the said Northern Pacific Railroad." 

Under Section 8 of the Act, the grants were so conditioned that the 
company was to begin work within two years from the approval of 
the Act, and complete not less than fifty miles per year after the sec- 
ond year, and to finish the whole road by July 4, 1876. 

Under Section 9, if the company made any breach of conditions 
and allowed it to continue for upwards of one year, then the United 
States, by Congress, might do any and all acts and things which may 
be needful and necessary to insure a speedy completion of the road. 

Section 10 gave all the people of the United States a right to sub- 
scribe to the stock. 

Section 18 provides that the company shall obtain consent of State 
legislatures before commencing work in said State, but have the right 
previously to make surveys. 

Section 20 is as follows: " That the better to accomplish the object 
of this Act, namely, to promote the public interest and welfare by the 
construction of said railroad and telegraph line, and keeping the same 
in working order, and to secure to the government at all times (but 
particularly in time of war) the use and benefits of the same for 
postal, military, and other purposes, Congress may at any time, 
having due regard for the rights of said ' Northern Pacific Railroad 
Company,' add to, alter, amend, or repeal this Act." 

The time in which, under the Act and its amendments, the road must 
be completed, had fully passed on the 4th of July, 1879. But it is, 
notwithstanding, held by the company, and by the government con- 
ceded, that the company will be entitled to lands for all the road it 
shall build in the future, so long as Congress does not repeal the Act, 
or declare the forfeiture of the grant made. As some two hundred 
miles of road are now in process of construction upon each side of the 
Rocky Mountains, and as the hopes of the people of the State of 
Oregon, and of the Territories of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and 
Dakota, are raised by this evidence of energy and of a purpose on the 
part of the company to now build the road, it is not believed that the 
enterprise has enough enemies to push adverse action through both 
houses, or either house of Congress, much less to secure Presidential 



66 

approval of such action. I think, therefore, that investors may feel 
quite certain that the company will secure, for all the road it builds, 
the lands donated by the terms of the grant. 

The stock of the company was fixed at $100,000,000. Of this, $51,000,- 
000 represented preferred stock, and $49,000,000 common. Some ei2:ht 
or ten millions of the preferred have become the property of the 
company through exchange for lands in and near the Red River Val- 
ley. The bonds of the company, the old bonds, have also been retired 
through a sale of the road under foreclosure, and exchanges for land, 
and only some $400,000, which cannot be found, are now out. The 
company is therefore practically free from debt, and owns, with the 
branch to St. Paul froni Brainerd, about seven hundred and twenty 
miles of road. The earnings of this road, and all the additions 
thereto, are pledged to the payment of interest on bonds issued for 
building the other divisions of the road. 

The bonds issued in the early history of the road were a mortgage 
upon the whole road and land grant. T'hese are now out of the way, 
and a different plan has been adopted, which is to issue bonds suffi- 
cient for each division, which shall be a mortgage only upon that 
particular division, and the lands acquired by building it. Thus two 
and one half millions of dollars of bonds have been put out for the 
Missouri Division, two hundred and eighteen miles long, which turns 
out not to be quite enough, and four and one half millions for the 
Pend d'Oreille Division, two hundred and nine miles long. 

This road is to extend from the westerly end of the great system of 
lakes, at Duluth, on Lake Superior, to the Pacific Ocean, at both the 
Columbia River and Puget Sound. The route is a remarkably direct 
one on the whole, and will be about 2,000 miles long to Kalamal, 
and 2,100 to New Tacoma. By the Act it is confined between the lati- 
tudes of forty-five and forty-nine degrees. The location will not fall 
much south of forty-six degrees nor much north of forty-eight degrees, 
a northing and southing of about two degrees or say one hundred and 
fifty miles. The larger part of this is made by the Pend d'OreiUe 
Division lying across the Columbia Plains, and the Clark's Fork 
Division, which lies between the Rocky Mountains on the northeast 
and the Bitter Root Range on the southwest. The location is upon 
the shortest route within the United States, from deep water on the 
east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It is also a very favorable one 
as to grades, which need not exceed about fifty-three feet per mile, 
except upon so much of the line as may be built over the Cascade 
Range, which I think will not be done for many years to come, if 
ever; and except the line go via Helena, Montana, which is not now 
probable, in both of which cases the grades would approximate or 
even exceed one hundred feet per mile. 



67 

The point of crossing the Rocky Mountains will probably be at the 
Deer I^odge Pass, at an elevation of about 6,000 feet above the sea. 
With few exceptions, where the grades will be undulating in crossing 
country from one valley to another, the grades will be continuously 
ascending from both Lake Superior, which has an elevation of six 
hundred and twenty-seven feet above the sea, and the Pacific Ocean, 
to the Rocky Mountain summit, which will be passed probably upon 
the surface. This condition of grades is a very important feature, as 
securing the highest possible economy of operation. 

The route, except where it lies across prairie, will largely follow 
river valleys, and becomes a " water route," making cheap construction 
as well as cheap operation possible. 

The road has for some time been completed and in operation from 
Duluth to the Missouri River at Bismarck, a distance of four hundred 
and seventy-four miles. This is an east and west road. The company 
has also built, within a few years, one hundred and five miles of nortli 
and south road from the Columbia River at Kalama to Puget Sound 
at New Tacoma, along the westerly foot of the Cascade Range. 

During the last season, 1879, I located the most of the Pend 
d'Oreille Division, beginning on the easterly bank of the Columbia 
River, at the mouth of Snake, and running northeasterly across the 
Columbia Plains along the principal coulees, around the northerly 
end of the Bitter Root Mountains to Lake Pend d'Oreille, two hundred 
and nine miles. In this division there are but three grades of any 
account rising west. Seeing that all the lumber for the treeless Colum- 
bia Plains, otherwise very rich, must go west from the Bitter Root 
Mountains; that the grains of the Columbia Plains, which are capable 
of producing fifty bushels of wheat per acre, must go west down to the 
Pacific Ocean; and that the dry goods, groceries, and fancy goods for 
that vast country must come from the east, and go west across these 
plains, — I felt it very important to modify, as far as possible, these three 
grades. The maximum proposed for the division, based on prelim- 
inary surveys, was fifty- three feet per mile, and this rate it was expected 
would also be adopted for the three grades rising west. The most 
westerly one was a grade of about four miles long, which was changed 
to one six miles long of thirty-two feet per mile, at an increased total 
cost of ^17,000, and was adopted by the company. The middle one, 
having several separated grades of fifty-three feet per mile, was 
changed to a continuous grade of thirty-two feet per mile for twelve 
miles, and over a very difficult country. The estimated extra cost of 
this thirty-two foot grade was about $100,000, and covered a trestle 
bridge 1,300 feet long and one hundred and sixiy-five feet high over 
Hangman Creek. This grade or change had not been adopted by the 
company when I left, and probably will not be, partly because of the 
extra cost, and partly because of the high bridge. The third was a 



grade of fifty-three feet per mile for five continuous miles, near the 
easterly end of the division. This could not easily be modified, on 
account of the difficult character of the country, and I advised no 
change, but the use of an assisting engine from the easterly terminus. 
Could the modification of the central grade be adopted, it would double 
the capacity of the road for w^est-bound freight. 

The Missouri Division lies in Dakota and Montana, and reaches 
from the Missouri Kiver, at Bismarck, to the Yellowstone Valley, a 
distance of two hundred and eighteen miles. Its general location 
had been pretty well established by Gen. Kosser, and I gave my atten- 
tion rather to particular modifications of the line, with a view to im- 
prove curvature and grades, and cheapen construction, and avoid 
trouble from rivers and snows. 

These two divisions — the Fend d'Oreille and Missouri — are pretty 
well along in construction, and will be nearly, but probably not quite, 
done this season. There will remain to be built to connect these 
two, the Yellowstone Division, three hundred and forty miles; the 
Rocky Mountains Division, one hundred and ninety-eight miles, and 
via Deer Lodge Pass, two hundred and thirty- five miles; and the 
Clark's Fork Division, two hundred and eighty-two miles: equal to 
eight hundred and twenty miles, or eight hundred and fifty-seven 
miles via Deer Lodge. 

The Yellowstone Division is under location, and my own impression 
is that these eight hundred and twenty miles of the road will now be 
finished within four or five years. There are no engineering difficul- 
ties, I suppose, to prevent its being done in three years. 

The country through which the N'orthern Facific is being built is 
very fine, so much of it as I have seen, and the remainder of it, which 
lies mainly in the Territory of Montana, is said to be equally so, and 
I have no doubt concerning it. The poorest part lies between Lake 
Superior and the Red River Valley. The salable products of the soil 
through the whole line will be mainly of wheat. The Red River 
Valley now produces about twenty-two bushels of wheat per acre, of the 
best quality for patent flour. The Columbia Flains yield, say fifty 
bushels wheat per acre, but after a few years of continuous culture in 
wheat, can be cropped to wheat only every second year. This wheat 
is very fine and handsome, and goes largely to Europe via Columbia 
River and ocean ships. Oats and potatoes are also crops well suited 
to the soil and climate. The products are very similar to those of our 
State of Maine. The potatoes are the finest 1 have ever seen. I have 
no doubt soils of similar productiveness extend all through the eight 
hundred and fifty-seven miles, which have not to any great extent 
been farmed as yet. The fertility of the few gardens along the line 
gives every promise of this. 
In Washington Territory it is but three or four years since it was 



69 

found that the hiojher lands were productive, but it is now discovered 
that the high lands, even to the crests of the rolls, and up the foot of 
the mountains, are better even than those lower down. The nearer 
the surface approaches to the original elevation of the bed of the 
aucient lake, and the less it has been exposed to the washing and 
wearing away by the waters going out, the better the soils appear. 

I am therefore led to believe that the higher tables of Dakota, about 
which there has been some doubt, will prove not less productive than 
the valley of the Red River, even. 

The grasses of Washington and Montana are very fine, and the 
exportable products, in way of horses, cattle, sheep, hides, and wool, 
must be very large. Dakota is too cold, and winters too long, to encour- 
age the stock business there. Stock must be helped to feed, through 
five or six months of every year. In the country farther west the 
Slock usually winters on the grasses, which become standing hay, but 
now and then a hard winter causes much suffering and loss among 
them. Sometimes hay is put up for cattle in anticipation of want; 
but being put up soon after a hard winter, it is usually spoiled before 
another hard winter succeeds, and so it proves a loss. It is said that 
cattle which are fed in part, soon lose their enterprise, and from self- 
dependence fall into dependence, and are worse off than if not fed at all. 

The first substantial shipment of cattle from Montana over the 
ISTorthern Pacific Railroad was made last fall from Bismarck. This 
fall the road will get many Montana cattle at end of track, and another 
season, when it shall have reached the Yellowstone Valley, will be in a 
position to command most of this business, if it will bu*: keep ahead 
of its rivals, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, the Chicago and 
iN'orthwestern, and the Union Pacific. 

The Territories are behind the times, and their own interests, in not 
having passed herd laws, so that fences be not needed to protect crops. 

Oregon and Western Washington are not agriculturally very exten- 
sive or promising. All the country west of the Rocky Mountains is 
very fine for most fruits; the cherries are the finest in the world; 
peaches, apricots, apples, plums, and all the small fruits abound, 
and are fine and sound. Hamburg grapes come to perfection at Walla 
Walla in the open air, without glass. Indian corn cannot probably be 
grown to any advantage anywhere along the line, because of the High 
latitude, and consequent coolness of the nights, and early autumn 
frosts. 

The Korthern Pacific route stands far ahead of the other Pacific 
roads, in that it has no desert along its line, while both the others have 
hundreds of continuous miles of desert, which never can be made use- 
ful in furnishing local agricultural business, unless by extensive and 
expensive irrigation, or until there be a large increase of rain. It also 
will be much more exempt from trouble by snows than the Central 



70 

route. The reason the road was practically closed In Dakota for three 
months last winter was because the road was too cheaply and improp- 
erly built. The cuts had been properly protected by triple fences, and 
there was very little trouble in them from snow. Outside the cuts the 
road was largely built " upon the grass," so that the throwing out of 
the overlying snow soon transformed the embankments (the places for 
them) into continuous, long, and very troublesome cuts. Had the 
road been built upon embankments three or four feet high, there 
would have been very little trouble. Should the branch over the Cas- 
cade Range be ever built, the road will then encounter very much 
such trouble and expense as the Central road now does in the Sierra 
Nevadas. 

The aim of the company is now to construct and connect, as soon 
as possible, the parts between the Missouri and the Columbia Rivers. 
Afterwards the two hundred and fifty miles west from the mouth of 
Snake River, either over the cascades or via the Columbia River, 
upon which there is now steamboat communication, can be built. 

I. have no doubt the country and climate along the whole length of 
the Northern Pacific, save a portion near Lake Superior, are suited to 
furnish suflScient local l)usi7iess, as soon as the country is settled, to 
handsomely sustain the road. 

The Missouri Division will cost, without rolling stock, about $16,000 
per mile; the Pend d'Oreille, about $23,000. The land grant amounts 
to 25,600 acres per mile. It will be seen that these lands at only $1.00 
per acre will pay for the road, and equip it too, probably. Kearly all 
the lands thus far sold have been at much higher prices. 

The company is not building a very good road. I do not think suffi- 
cient attention is given to securing a road which can be economically 
operated. Almost any one can afford to buy a horse and chaise, but 
few can afford to keep them. The company says we must do as we 
can now, and build it over by and by. That can be done as to many 
things without loss, but when locations and grades are wrong, it takes 
years and thousands to remedy the mistakes, and as a rule, they never 
are remedied. 

The climates along the line are very various. The cold of the Red 
Ri\»er Yalley, which lies open to the northwest, and whose waters 
are shed towards Hudson's Bay, is very severe. I experienced cold 
there last winter of thirty-eight degrees below zero, and it reached 
about minus sixty degrees in some places. The rainfall, and conse- 
quently the snowfall, is not large, and the snow only becomes trouble- 
some because of the vast extent of prairie across which it is driven 
to lodge at the first opportunity. The snowfall begins in December, 
and continues into March > The country is desolate and bleak, and 
very unpromising for homes, as far loest as Bismarck, and is better 
suited to extensive farming through corporations. 



71 

The climate of Montana is said to be one of the best in the world, 
and, though rather cold in winter, a very pleasant and healthful one in 
which to live. Beyond the Rocky Mountains the climate is tempered 
by the winds and warmth of the Pacific Ocean. In Eastern Washing- 
ton the winters are short, snows few and in small quantity. The days 
of the summers are hot, the nights always cool; the rainfall is about 
fifteen inches per annum, falling mostly during the spring months. 
In Western Washington and Oregon the winters are mild, ice very 
rarely forming at Puget Sound, and the rainfall excessive throughout 
the year. 

Some of the members of our Society are upon the road. Mr. Weeks 
is running a line in the woods along the south side of Lake Superior, 
through Wisconsin, with a view to a Montreal connection via Sault de 
Ste. Marie, at some time. Mr. Holbrook is principal assistant at Man- 
dan, Dakota Territory. Mr. Fisher is at end of track and in charge 
of it. Mr. Grant is in charge of construction in the " Bad Lands." 

The stock business, carried on extensively along the proposed line 
of the IsTorthern Pacific Railroad, has very many interesting features. 
Every herder, to protect his stock, must adopt some mark for it, which 
must be recorded with the county clerk. Once a year the herds, or 
" bands " as they are there called, are " rounded up " or gathered to- 
gether for the purpose of counting and marking the young. All the 
young still running with their dams take the mark of their dnms. 
Other young, which have become self-supporting, are marked by tliose 
who happen to gather them up with their own mark, and thencefor- 
ward become their property. They are caught, when at large, with 
the lasso, thrown, marked with a hot brand, or by slashing their ears 
or dewlaps, and the males are castrated. 

Mares are used only or largely for breeding, only geldings being 
ridden or worked. The young horses are not broken by any gradual 
process, but at about four years of age are caught with the lasso and 
put at once to work. They are consequently always wild, and never to 
be trusted. They are mostly of the Spanish and Indian crosses, and 
worth $75 to $100 at four years. They are tough and hardy animals. 

The cattle are of the " grade " kind usually, the common crossed 
with the Durham or short horns. There are no long horns among 
them. The cows are rarely sold or killed for beef, but are permitted 
to live so long as they bring the annual calf. A yearling is worth $5 
to $8; a two year old, $12 to $15; and three and four year old, $-J0 to 
$23. At a ranch upon the Yakima River, Mr. Thorp's, I was much 
interested in the hazardous process of breaking in wild cows for dairy 
use. 

The raising of horses would seem, from the above figures, to be the 
more profitable, when it is also considered that horses are more capa- 
ble of providing for themselves in hard winters, than are cattle. But 



72 

you will notice also that the capital invested in horses is some four or 
five times greater than in cattle, so that the profits are at about the 
same rate per centum in the two cases. 

The sheep are of the merino variety, and worth $2.50 per head. 
The yield of wool is four to five pounds, which last year sold at Walla 
Walla for one shilling per pound. 

The ranchmen are a banditti. They roam over the public domain, 
of which they usually own not a foot. Their cattle are fatted upou 
the public grasses and drink of the public waters. They lord it over 
all. They cruelly break in their young horses, and ride them to the 
extent of one hundred miles in a day. They resist the passage of herd 
laws, under which they become liable for damage done to unfenced 
crops, and so retard the building up of the country. Upon the Co- 
lumbia Plains fencing stuff must come from mountains usually far 
away. It costs more to fence a farm than to buy it. It is conse- 
quently a great hardship upon the farmer (which he does not always 
see) to first fence his farm and then afterwards maintain it, in order 
to keep the cattle of the ranchmen, which are trespassers in any event, 
from destroying his crops. The ranchmen are, however, honorable 
towards each other, and hospitable and generous in the extreme. I 
have personally received many kindnesses at their hands and at their 
ranches. 

The compounding of a " band of stock" by natural increase, when 
eveiything goes well, is a very rapid process, and often yields large 
profits. 

It seems to me a business which would be especially acceptable to 
our Indian tribes, and one in which they would be tolerably sure to 
succeed. 

The Columbia Plains, of Washington Territory, are very rich and 
promising. They were once the bed of a great inland fresh-water 
lake or sea, probably 1,000 miles long north and south, and one hun- 
dred and fifty miles wide. The whole surrounding country is volcanic, 
and the Snake River, from its source as far south as Salt Lake, runs 
through lava beds its entire length. The Columbia Plains are under- 
laid with lava, which is brought to view all along its river courses, and 
the Cascade liange is of lava. There are many extinct volcanoes in 
this range, which were hot headed and fiery in their youth, but now 
white with ages of perpetual snow. Those lava beds are the most 
extensive in the known world, and the soils formed by their disintegra- 
tion are the most enduring and the richest among soils. 

Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helen, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jeffer- 
son, all of the Cascades, I have seen, and several of them from the 
same point. 

The Indians have a tradition that Mt. Adams, lying north of the 
Columbia, and Mt. Hood, nearly opposite on the south side, became 



73 

angry and threw rocks at each other, and so dammed the Colum- 
bia River at a point called the Cascades. In course of time, the dam, 
having accumulated the waters above, was worn down or undermined, 
leaving a bridge over. 

Geologists are now of the opinion that something substantially of 
this sort has transpired. At the present bed of the Columbia, at the 
cascades, which lies at about sea level, there is found a black ooze 
and a sandstone formation, indicating a former existence of the river at 
this level, while the lava is piled in layers twenty to fifty feet thick 
upon each side of the river, to the height of 2,500 and 2,700 feet above 
the (sandstone. There are found, in this black soil, stumps of trees 
burned by and embedded in what was hot lava, and above the cascades, 
which have a fall of some forty-five feet in six miles, there are found 
submerged about thirty feet, and standing erect, tall fir-tree stumps 
of the kind now growing in the vicinity. 

The geologists, therefore, suppose that when the Columbia was at 
its present or slightly lower level ages ago, that the volcanoes Adams 
and Hood poured out layer after layer of basalt, which gradually filled 
up the river valley to the elevation indicated by the present lava blutfs 
on either side; that then the valleys of the rivers behind were gradu- 
ally filled with water, until there became a vast inland sea. When the 
accumulation reached the level of the top of the lava dam, the waters 
began to cut down the barrier until they reached the original bed of 
the Columbia at the sea level, leaving behind the great and rich 
Columbia Plains, made up of the worn-down lava and volcanic ashes of 
the ages. 

It was interesting to notice that the highest point of the plains 
crossed by the Peud d'Oreille Division, and which is substantially 
the crest of the plains, stands at an elevation of about 2,500 feet above 
the sea, or at about the present elevation of the wings of the old 
lava dam at the cascades. 

During the process of cutting down this dam (what a waterfall 
must there have been!) and the subsidence of the lake, great changes 
were wrought in the Columbia Plains. They are now heavily rolling. 
In climbing from the Snake River on the Dayton and Colfax road, in 
either direction, elevations of 1,200 feet above the river are reached in 
twelve miles of distance. All the river courses tend in their general 
direction towards the great Columbia pass through the Cascade Range, 
and in addition, there is a great system of coulees, or old and elevated 
river-beds, tending in the same general direction. These coulees are 
usually broad valleys, nearly continuous in given directions, sometimes 
a mile wide, cut through the lava beds, and having broad, flat floors, 
and generally dry except when there is a rainfall, or when the snows 
are melting under the Chenook winds. 

It has seemed to mo that there must at some time have been a more 



74 

than average giving away of the great cascade dam, or an under- 
mining of it, which permitted a more rapid discharge of the confined 
waters, and which cut these immense channels across the plains. Judg- 
ing from the elevations of the beds of the coulees, and from the exist- 
ence of a mountain range crossing the Columbia River at Wallula, 
just below the mouth of the Snake, and one hundred and seventy-four 
miles above the cascades, and from the fact that the coulees amd 
present water-courses have a direction towards the present opening 
through the mountain range at Wallula, that this more rapid dis- 
charge of the lake must have occurred after the general level of the 
lake had ftillen below the tops of this Wallula barrier. 

It is, however, possible that the confining of the flowing waters 
during the subsidence of the lake to the narrow channel now existing 
at Wallula, while before they had been overtopping these mountains 
on either side, may sufficiently account for the direction, size, and 
character of the coulees, without supposing there may have been a 
sudden giving away of the dam at the cascades. 

These coulees are now splendid valleys in which to build railroads. 
The Pend d'Oreille Division lies for about one hundred and twenty- 
five miles in two or three of them, and the whole plain is so provided 
with such or lesser coulees, that it will be a very easy matter to 
accommodate it with railroads. 

The natural rainfall of the later ages has occupied some of these 
coulees and water-courses, and gradually lowering down to the original 
level al which they existed, and cutting out the deposits made in 
them duriog the existence of the lake, has made of them the present 
drainage system of the country, and left the others high and dry for 
man's use. 

The only " living " glaciers of the United States lie upon the north- 
erly slope of Mt. Rainier. I approached within twenty miles of 
them, and noticed the ice-cold and milk-white water running away 
from them, by the' Carbon and other rivers. The whiteness of the 
water is due to the grinding up of the granite rock by the flowing ice. 

The Bad Lands of Dakota and Montana are very interesting, and 
wonderful in their apparent badness. The country in which- they 
occur is a vast plain, which is made up of alternate layers or level veins of 
clay, — indurated clay, sandstone, lignite, etc., — which seems to have 
been deposited during fifteen or twenty different eras. The waters 
flowing away from and across those plains have at length cut their 
river and creek beds down four hundred or five hundred feet through 
these formations, leaving steep cliffs, cut into every fantastic shape, 
and in immense proportions. The burning lignite has converted the 
beautiful clay into fine red pottery, giving to certain hills the name of 
" Red Buttes." The slopes of these Bad Lands are without verdure, 
and have no use except for the photographer; but the lands at their 



75 

tops and bases bear fine grass. These lands will furnish fine pasture 
and shelter for cattle, and they are now the resort of mountain sheep, 
•vvhi'^h can easily escape man and defy his approach. 

I believe these statements to be substantially correct. 

I have enjoyed my year's experience upon the :N'orthern Pacific, in 
spite of its many hardships, very much. 



Mr. Frederick Brooks gave a very interesting account of some of 
the excursions made by the American Society of Civil Engineers durino- 
its annual convention at St. Louis, and exhibited a large number of ex- 
cellent photographs of the St. Charles and the St. Louis bridges. The 
following is an abstract of his remarks on the government improve- 
ments at Horse Tail Bar, on the Mississippi River: — 

One of the excursions of the St. Louis Convention was to Horse Tail 
Bar, a few miles below St. Louis, where the United States govern- 
ment is improving the channel. The Illinois bank, which was formerly 
wooded, has had the trees cut off, and this is thought to have occasioned 
the cutting away by the river of the banks, which would not other- 
wise have occurred. The increased width of the river having produced 
shoaling and difficult navigation, the government wishes to improve 
it by restoring the bank. A wall of riprap, formerly put in for this 
purpose, has mostly disappeared, and the present work is of a differ- 
ent character, being intended to offer a very slight obstruction to the 
current, and thereby to secure the deposit of river sediment. On the 
proposed line of new bank is placed what the engineers call a " cur- 
tain," consisting of a light framework or screen of saplings and brush; 
one edge is anchored to the bottom of the river, while the other is 
buoyed at the surface, so that it stands nearly in a vertical plane. The 
sections of this curtain are launched into their positions off from 
inclined ways on a scow. The anchors are placed upon a sort of 
hinged shelf projecting from the side of the scow. This shelf is 
suddenly dropped, and the weight of the anchors then pulls the cur- 
tain into the river. The anchor is of very cheap construction, and 
looks like a hen-coop full of stones, which are held in by wires. 

At right angles to the current, from the line of this curtain to the 
present bank, are placed hurdles a few hundred feet apart. The hur- 
dle consists of a row of piles driven into the bottom, and wattled with 
brush. A rise in the Missouri River (which carries an immense vol- 
ume of material held in suspension), while the upper Mississippi 
remains low, is expected to secure a large deposit of sediment at these 
works. When the upper Mississippi rises, its waters follow down the 
Illinois shore at these works, and bring comparatively little sediment. 

[Adjourned.'] 

S. E. TINKHAM, 

Secretary pro tern. 



\ 



THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



City Hall, Boston, Oct. 16, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the society wiU be held in Wesleyan Hall, 
Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7^ o'clock, P. M. 

Among other business to come before the meeting will be the elec- 
tion of a president to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. 
Davis. 

Mr. E. TV. Bowditch will have something to say on sanitary mat- 
ters, and Mr. Edward P. Adams, of Boston, will exhibit the "Graphic 
Trigonometer " designed by him, and explain the method and advan- 
tages of its use. 

The attention of members is called to the vote passed at the last 
meeting, establishing a prize for the best essay read before the society. 
The conditions are fully set forth in the vote, given in the printed 
record of the meeting, and it is hoped that it will be the means of 
securing a greater number of valuable papers to the society than has 
been the case in former years. It would greatly assist the govern- 
ment in preparing exercises for the various meetings, if members 
would voluntarily notify the secretary of papers or other matter of 
interest which they have to present, and not wait to be solicited for 
their contribution. Since the society has printed in full the papers 
read before it, there is a greater inducement for members to prepare 
a description of the work upon which they are engaged, as they are 
assured of its being put in convenient form, not only for preservation, 
but for distribution among their friends. The printing of the proceed- 
ings has proved in every way so beneficial, that it should be con- 
tinued, if possible; but to do so it is essential that members should fur- 
nish a good supply of valuable materials, and thus at the same time 
maintain the reputation of the society, and make the meeting of 
interest and value to the members. 

S. E. TIKKHAM, Secretary. 

(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, SEPTEMBER, 1880.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Sept. 15, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. Thomas Doane in the chair, and seventeen 
members present (Blodgett, Brooks, Carson, Cheney, Curtis, Puller, 



78 

Fteley, Hardy, Howland, Kettell, Kimball, May, Phinney, Sampson 
Tinkham, Tucker, Whittaker.) 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The committee to nominate a secretary reported the name of Mr. S. 
E. Tinkham, and a ballot being taken, he was declared elected. 

A letter was received from Mr. Joseph P. Davis, resigning the posi- 
tion of president of the society, on account of his change of residence. 
The resignation was accepted, and the secretary instructed to express 
to Mr. Davis the regrets of the society that he finds it necessary to 
relinquish the position. 

The government of the society submitted a report upon matters 
referred to it, and in accordance witli its recommendations, it was 
voted, " That the sum of $15 be appropriated to be expended in books 
as a prize for the best essay read before the society during the year end- 
ing March, 1881. That the president and vice-president and a third 
member selected by them form the committee to award the prize. That 
papers descriptive of actual work shall be given the preference in 
awarding the prize, other things being equal. That the committee 
may decline to award the prize, if, in their opinion, no paper has been 
presented worthy of it." 

Notice was given of a proposed amendment to the By-Laws by strik- 
ing out Section 8, which reads, '* No book shall be removed from the 
rooms of the society, except by vote of the society." 

Messrs. Henry Manley, Frederick Brooks, and S. E. Tinkham were 
appointed a committee to confer with similar committees of other local 
engineering societies throughout the United States, for the purpose of 
maturing a plan for the joint publication of the papers read before the 
various societies. 

The communication of Mr. "W. E. Pettee, suggesting the publication 
by the society of a work on '* Law and Practice for Land Surveyors in 
the New England States," was referred to a committee consisting of 
Messrs. Thomas Doane, T. W. Davis, and J. H. Curtis. 

Mr. Frederick Brooks gave a very interesting account of a visit to 
the Hudson River Tunnel, and described the peculiar system of tuhel- 
ling used. A general discussion followed, participated in by Messrs. 
Carson, Doane, Fteley, Tucker, and Whittaker. 

lAdjourned.J, 

S. E. TINKHAM, Secretary. 



THE BOSTON SOCIETY OE CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, OCTOBER, 1880.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Oct. 20, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. L. Frederick Rice in the chair, and thirteen 
members present (Blodgett, Bradley, Bray, Bowditch, Carson, Cheney, 
Curtis, T. ^y. Davis, Fuller, Hardy, Howland, Kimball, Tinkham). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The amendment to the By-Laws proposed at the last meeting, strik- 
out Section 8, was adopted. 

On motion of Mr. Hardy, the government was instructed to make 
such rules with regard to the circulation of the books of the society as 
it deems necessary. 

Mr. Thomas Doane was elected president, to fill the vacancy caused 
by the resignation of Mr. Davis. 

Mr. Edward P. Adams exhibited the "Graphic Trigonometer" 
designed by him, and explained the method of using it, substantially 
as given in " Engineering iSTews,'^ of Sept. 11, 1880. If a sufficient 
number of subscribers can be obtained to warrant, it will be published, 
and a subscription list was left with the secretary, to whom members 
desiring a copy may send their names. 

Mr. E. W. Bowditch gave some interesting facts in relation to sani- 
tary matters, derived from his work on large estates; speaking in par- 
ticular of water supply and drainage as applied to them. A general 
discussion followed, participated in by Messrs. Bowditch, Carson, 
Curtis and Rice. 

[Adjourned.'] S. E. TINKHAM, 

Secretary. 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, NOVEMBER, 1880.) 

AVesleyan Hall, Boston, Nov. 17, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. C. W. Folsom in the chair, and twelve mem- 
bers present (Brooks, Carson, FitzGerald, A. W. Forbes, Fuller, How- 
land, Kettell, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Shepard, Tinkham, Whitney). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 



80 

The following were proposed for membership: Mr. N. Henry 
Crafts, by Messrs. T. W. Davis and W. H. Bradley; and Mr. William 
E. McCIintock, by Messrs. Henry Manley and Fred. Firooks. 

Mr. Brooks brought to the attention of the society the need of some 
uniform base of reference for levels, and on his motion it was voted: 
" That the subject of uniformity in datum planes be referred to the 
Committee on Land Surveying, appointed at the September meeting." 

The Secretary called attention to the death of one of the members 
of the society, which had occurred since the preceding meeting, and 
said: ''Mr. Osgood Hodges died in his native city, Salem, Mass., 
Nov. 2, after an illness of about two weeks, of malarial fever. Mr. 
Hodges was educated in the public school of Salem, and graduated 
from Harvard College in 1871, taking high rank as a student, excelling 
particularly in mathematics. Choosing civil engineering for his profes- 
sion, he continued his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology. Knowing him at this time with the intimacy of a classmate, 
and daily brought in contact with him, I can speak with confidence of 
his, earnestness as a student, of his conscientiousness in the discharge of 
duties placed upon him, and, above all, of his frank, winning manners, 
which secured for him the universal esteem and friendship of his class. 
On the conclusion of his course at the Institute, in 1873, he at once 
began active work on the Sudbury River conduit of the Boston Water 
Works. He remained on this work until its completion, in 1879, for 
the last two years having charge of one of the divisions. He next was 
engaged on the prelimitiary survey in Xew Mexico, for the extension 
of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to the Pacific coast. 
A little less than a year ago he accepted a position in the engineering 
departm'ent of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, and it 
was while engaged in his work at Steubenville that he was exposed to 
the malarial influences of the banks of the Ohio River, and there 
contracted the fever which proved fatal." 

Mr. FitzGekald said : *' During the construction of the Sud- 
bury River aqueduct, I was frequently brought in contact with Mr. 
Hodges, and I desire here to bear testimony to his character as a 
man, and his ability as an engineer. It was with the greatest surprise' 
and pain that I read the recent account of his sudden death; of a 
strong and vigorous physique, and with overflowing animal spirits," 
his appearance certainly suggested the idea of a long life of useful- 
ness. His training for the profession had been thorough, and he 
showed the results of it in his work. I have frequently seen him at 
the meetings of this society, but his modest estimate of his own abil- 
ities did not lead him to participate prominently in the transactions. 
I can only say that one of the most promising of our associates has 
been removed by the mysterious hand of death, almost at the very 
opening of his career." 



81 

Mr. Charles W. Kettell called attention to the follovving articles in 
Vol. XXX. of London " Engineering " : — 



BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER VOLGA. 

The means of communication across the river Volga are very im- 
perfect, there having been but one bridge in a distance of 1,700 miles, 
previous to the opening of the Sj'zran Bridge. The latter, which is a 
railway bridge, crosses the Volga about twelve miles above the town 
of Syzran, at a point where the width is 4,900 feet at the period of 
summer low water. During the month of May, however, the river 
rises forty-two feet above low water, the width near Syzran being then 
about five miles, and the river is often agitated by violent storms, at- 
tended with waves which often attain a height of six or seven feet. 
As to the velocity of the current, this was found in spring to be seven 
feet per second between the piers, the discharge being then about 
2,230,000 cubic feet. The bridge, exclusive of five miles of viaduct on 
the left bank, has a total length of 4,719 feet, and consists of thirteen 
spans of three hundred and sixty-three feet each. These spans are 
formed of two lattice girders divided into twenty-five bays, and hav- 
ing a total height of thirty-seven feet six inches. The most interest- 
ing feature of this work is the mode of erection adopted, which 
avoided all staging for placing the girders, weighing five hundred and 
sixteen tons, in their positions on the piers. A staging was built on 
the bank of the river, and on this all the thirteen girders for the bridge 
were completely riveted up side by side. They were then rolled out 
over two wings, erected in the water, and a floating stage, consisting 
of seven pontoons coupled together, and carrying a stage eighty feet 
high, received them. This floating stage w^as lowered to receive the 
girders by admitting water into the hulls; pumps were then set to 
work until the stage rose sufficiently to lift the girders off their sup- 
ports, and the whole was then floated into position, and the water 
again allowed to enter the barges, and the girders thus lowered on 
their bearings. This whole operation required from ten to twelve 
hours for each girder. The total weight of the iron work is 6,820 
tons, and the contract price, for building and erecting the bridge, was 
*iei,135,000. 

BRIDGE OVER THE GRAND RIVER, CREDIT VALLEY RT. , CANADA. 

Attention is called to this bridge on account of the low jDrice for 
which it is reported to have been erected. It is an iron bridge on 
masonry piers, and consists ^^of five spans of five hundred and fifty feet 
each, and trestle approaches at each side. The total cost of the 
bridge and approaches, including false-work, was as follows : — 



82 

For substructure complete . 
'' superstructure erected . 
" trestles at both ends 
" supervision and sundries 

Total .... 



126,315 

30,187 

3,120 

960 

$60,582 



SWISS TRIAKGUIiATIOK. 

The measurements of the base line near Aarberg, for the geodetic 
triangulation of Switzerland, have been successfully accomplished, 
under Gen. Ibanez. The base has been measured twice over, and the 
first time it was found to be 2,400.087 metres, while the second time it 
was made 2,400.085 metres, the difference being only 2 millimetres. 
The apparatus emplo3'^ed in these operations is the invention of Gen. 
Ibanez, Director of the Geographical Institute, Madrid. 

DURATION OF STEEL KAILS. 

Some experiments on the comparative duration of steel and iron 
rails of different qualities have been recently completed on the Cologne 
and Minden Railway. After fifteen years' wear it was found neces- 
sary to take up the following proportion of different classes of rails: — 
Fine-grained iron, 82 per cent; Ordinary iron, 74; Puddled steel, 41.6; 
Bessemer steel, 4.7. 

Mr. EitzGekald reported from "Annales des Fonts et Chaussees " 
for the current year, calling particular atteution to articles on the 
enlargement of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. These will be found 
in the Februarj^ and April numbers, the former being devoted to the 
construction of the Paroy reservoir, and the lalter to alterations of the 
superstructures. They are both illustrated in detail, and furnish an 
excellent example of the French method of canal construction. The 
March number contains a very thorough article on the various kinds 
of Dredging Machines in use in the United States, and is probably the 
most complete account to be found. It ends with recommending our 
*' clam-shell " dredge for use in France. The May number contains an 
interesting article on the Stability of Arches and Domes, and another 
on some of the general principles governing the great arteries of travel, 
such as canals, roads, and railways. In the June number the most 
interesting article is upon the Resistance on Railways, and in the 
July, tiiat on repairs to the Works at Cherbourg and Die])pe. The 
August number gives a very full description of the Wire Tramway at 
San Francisco, which is well illustrated. 

lAdjourned.^ 

S. E. TINKHAM, 
Secretary. 



BOSTON SOCIETY 0¥ CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



City Hall, Boston, Jan. 12, 1881. 

A regular meeting of the Society will be held in Wesleyan Hall, 
Boston, Weduesday, Jan. 19, 1881, at 7^ o'clock P. M. 

A paper prepared by the late E. N. Winslow, on the Bridge over the 
Taunton River at Fall River, will be read. 

A report (see copy appended) will be made by the Committee on 
Joint Publication of Proceedings. 

As only a limited number of copies of the Articles of Association 
and Proceedings of the Committees at Chicago have been received, 
members are requested to have their copies with them at the meeting. 

S. E. TmKHAM, Secretary, 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON" JOINT PUBLICATION OF 

PROCEEDINGS. 

To The Boston Society of Civil ENaiNEEKs: — 

The committee appointed to confer with similar committees of 
other local engineering societies for the purpose of maturing a plan 
for the joint publication of the papyers read before the various societies 
respectfully report: 

That after a considerable correspondence with representatives of 
various societies, a meeting of delegates from Chicago, Cleveland, 
and St. Louis was held at Chicago, on Dec. 4, 1880, at which your 
committee were represented by letter, and that a draft of Articles of 
Association for a Joint Publication was agreed upon. Printed copies 
of the proceedings of that meeting have been received and will be 
distributed among the members of the Society with this report. 

The proposal received from the proprietors of The American 
Engineer and referred to your committee by vote of Dec. 15, 1880, 
was also discussed at the meeting at Chicago, and a vote passed which 
is included in the printed proceedings ; your committee have simply to 
report their approval thereof. Your committee recommend that this 
Society join the proposed Association, and that the Articles of Associa- 
tion agreed upon at Chicago be ratified. They therefore recommend 
the passage of the following vote: — 



8± 

Voted^ That the Articles of Association of the Association of Kuui- 
neering- Societies, as printed in the proceedings of the meetiiig of dele- 
gates, at Chicago, Dec. 4, 1880, be and the same are hereby ratified by this 
Society. 

Kespectfully submitted, 



HEII^RY MANLEY, 

FREDEEICK BROOKS, \ Committee. 

S. E. TINKHAM, 



:s, V Cc 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER, 1880.) 

Weslyan Hall, Boston, Dec. 15, 1880. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Vice-President Edward S. Philbrick in the chair, 
and sixteen members present (Blodgett, Brooks. Cheney, T. W. Davis, 
Doane, FitzGerald, Folsom, Fuller, Howe, Howland, Lunt, May, 
L. F. Rice, Sampson, Tinkham, Whitney). 

The record of the last meeling was rend and approved. 

A letter was read from Mr. Thomas Doane accepting the presidency 
of the Society. 

A communication from the proprietors of The American JEngineer, 
submitting a proposition for publishing the proceedings of the Society, 
was referred to the Committee on Joint Publications, with instruc- 
tions to confer with other societies, and solicit propositions from othel: 
engineering journals. 

The matter of reinvesting the funds of the Society, now in United 
States bonds, was referred to the government to recommend a new 
investment, 

Mr. John R. Freeman was proposed for membership by Messrs. 
John E. Cheney and Wm. Ripley Nichols. 

Messrs. N. Henry Crafts and William E. McClintock were elected 
members of the Society. 

On motion of Mr. Brooks, it was Voted, " That the government be 
authorized to renew the subscriptions of the Society lo the professional* 
periodicals it has taken during the year 1880, and that thej' may, at 
their discretion, subscribe either in the name of the Society or in the 
name of individual members." 

The government announced the following rules with regard to the 
circulation of the books of the library, which they were instructed to 
prepare : — 

The library books may be lent by the Librarian, or in his absence 
by the Secretary, to any member of the Society who gives a receipt 
therefor. 



85 

Not more than four (4) volumes shall be on loan at one time to the 
same member. 

Any book lent shall be returnable at the ijicxt following: regular 
meetiu'y of the Society ; any menil)er retaining it longer shall be sub- 
ject to a fine, for the additional time, of twenty-five cents per month, 
or fraction of a month. It shall be the duty of the Librarian to collect 
the fines, pay them to the Treasurer, and insert in the annual report of 
the government a statement of the amount. 

Mr. Doane called attention to the death of Mr. E. I*^. Winslow, a 
member of the Society, and read the following account of his life, 
prepared by Mr. Marston, one of his associate directors of the Old 
Colony Railroad : — 



MEMOIR OF EPHRAIM N. WINSLOW. 

Ephraim N". Winslow, chief engineer of the Old Colony Railroad 
C(*mpany, died at the United States Hotel, in Boston, December 5, 
1880, at the age of fifty -six years. He was a native of Freetown, Mass., 
where he was born. May 23, 1824, and a lineal descendant of Kenelm 
Winslow, who came to Plymouth in 1629. 

Mr. Winslow received his rudimentary education in the common 
schools of his native town, and early manifested taste and ability in 
mathematical pursuits. He commenced his study of civil engineering 
with Simeon Borden, Esq., of Fall River, who was at that time emi- 
nent in his profession, especially in the department of railroad con- 
struction. He was employed as an assistant on the line from Fall 
River via Middleboro' to South Braintree, now a portion of the Old 
Colony Railroad, where he did valuable work, and fully justified the 
expectatious of his instructor. When the Cape Cod Branch Railroad 
was constructed from Middleboro' to Sandwich, Mr. Borden was engi- 
neer in charge, but the practical work was largely intrusted to Mr. 
Winslow. 

He thus had responsible employment under sagacious advice, 
and grew rapidly in his professional knowledge and experience. 
•When the Cape Cod Railroad was extended from Sandwich to Hyanuis, 
the engineering was undertaken jointly by Mr. Winslow and the late 
Sylvanus Bourne, of Wareham, who was then superintendent of that 
railroad. Mr. Bourne had other duties, and Mr. Winslow gave to this 
business his constant attention, feeling and sustaining the entire 
responsibility. He was soon appointed superintendent of the Cape 
Cod Railroad on the retirement of Mr. Bourne, and not long after he 
was elected its treasurer ami one of its directors, in which positions 
he continued until the union of that road wilh the Old Colony Rail- 
road. He became the actual m mager of the Cape Cod road in its 



86 



departments of engineering, construction, operation, and finance, and 
in each and all was trusted with entire confidence by his directors. 

When the line from South Braintree via Taunton to Somerset 
Junction was constructed, Mr. Winslow was employed as engineer. 
The road was then called the Dighton and Somerset Railroad, though 
it was well known that the Old Colony Railroad was concerned in it, 
and that it was intended as part of a better railroad line for New 
York business between Boston and Fall River. The work of this 
piece of road was most thoroughly and skilfully done, reflecting 
credit on the engineer. 

When the Cape Cod road was absorbed into the Old Colony, in 1872, 
Mr. Winslow was appointed chief engineer, and elected a director of 
the latter road, and continued as such to his death. He had charge 
as engineer of the construction of the Woods Holl branch of the Old 
Colony, and the extension of its line to Provincetown on Cape Cod, 
and he designed and superintended the construction of the bridge 
across Taunton Great River at Fall River. In building this bridge 
it became necessary to adopt methods not before in use in New Eng- 
land. The foundations were put in by the pneumatic process, which 
had before been used in the West, especially in the Missouri River, 
where secure foundations could not otherwise be reached. It became 
necessary for Mr. Winslow to make himself familiar with the process » 
and to procure the needful men and machinery to carry forward the 
work. 

He also had the supervision of much work on wharves at the ter- 
minal points of the Old Colony in addition to repairs and adjustments 
on its extensive lines of four hundred and seventy-five miles. He 
was also, up to the time of his death, a director in the Union Freight 
Railroad. He was formerly a justice of the peace while resident in 
Hyannis, and in 1878 was appointed a justice for all the counties of 
the Commonwealth. 

In all these various professional pursuits he fully met the require- 
ments of his duty. He was characteristically methodical, cautious, 
judicious, and conscientious. He was quiet, simple, and unobtrusive 
in his manners, firm in his opinions and convictions, and sincere in 
his friendships. . 

It will be seen that his whole life was spent in the railroad service 
of the Old Colony section of Massachusetts, and upon what now is a 
part of the Old Colony Railroad. Through the whole time he was 
devoted to his duties ; taking no vacations, except now and then such 
as were in the line of railroad service. The people among whom his 
days were spent, and especially his co-directors, always held him in 
the highest respect, and feel a sense of great loss in his death. 

Mr. Winslow was for a number of years a director of the bank in 
Yarmouth, Mass., where he kept his Cape Cod Railroad account ; he 
was also president of the Nantucket and Cape Cod Steamboat Com- 



87 

pany, wliich is a part of the Old Colony system ; and was a director 
iu some other raih-oad lines which are held in the Old Colony interest. 
lie was buried at Warehara, Mass. ; his obsequies being attended by 
a large number of railroad-men and personal friends. 



Mr. FitzGerald reported more fully upon the Wire Tramway at San 
Francisco, as given in Annales des Fonts et Chaussees tor August, 1880. 

Mr. E. W. Howe described the construction of the old " Mill Dam " 
Wall substantially as follows : — 

As an example of an engineering structure of sixty years ago, per- 
haps a description of this sea-wall may be of some interest. The 
" Mill Dam " as it is called, was built for the purpose of utilizing the 
rise and fall of the tide as a source of power, but has been chiefly used 
as a public highway. Its construction was begun about the year 1818, 
and completed in 1821. It is about a mile and one half in length, and 
consists of two parallel walls about 50 feet apart between their outer 
faces. In excavating through them for the construction of the new 
sluices at the outlet of the lake in the Back Bay Park, the construction 
of the old dam was found to be as follows : For the northerly wall 
starting from a grade of 1.75 feet below low water, there was first laid 
a course of 12" X 1'-" timbers, four in number, running lengthwise 
of the wall, the four occupying a width of 6 feet ; on these was laid a 
course of 9" X 9" timber crossways of the wall and about 9 inches 
apart ; next there was another course of five 12 " X 12 " timbers laid 
lengthwise. The timber was white pine, and the courses were tree- 
nailed together with oak treenails 1% " square ; one treenail in every 
other bearing. The southerly WriU has only two courses of timber, 
the lower coui'se of 12 " X 12 " laid lengthwise, and the uj)per of 9 " 
X 9 " laid crosswise. Otherwise the two walls are alike. The walls 
are of rubble masonry, 6 feet wide at the bottom and 3 feet wide 
at the top. of Roxbury pudding-stone, laid dry and very loosely. The 
wall is ballasted with small stones from the bottom to the top of the 
masonry ; the ballast having a width of 8 feet at the bottom and 
nothing at the top. Ttie back-filling is of mud to a height of 8 5 feet 
above the timber work, then 5 feet of sand, and then from 1.5 to 
2 feet of road material. The whole height of the mason -y is 15 
feet. The wall has evidently settled somewhat and is somewhat out 
of a straight line, but not so much so as to cause any fear of its de- 
struction. The wall is all afloat, so to speak, on the mud ; thei-e being 
from six to eight feet of mud underneath it, with no piling or other 
foundation other than the timber work before described ; while the 
average thickness of the wall is but three tenths of the height. 

Mr. Doane read the following paper: — 



88 



ADDITIONAL WIDTH OF GAUGE OM RAILKOAD CURVES. 

BY THOMAS DOANE. 

Some two or three years ago, an inquiry was made through the 
Railroad Oazette as to making the gauge of raih-oad tracks wider upon 
curves than upon straight lines. The editor asked for information upon 
that subject, but, so far as I know, the matter has had no further 
attention, though it is a very important one. 

As long ago as 1870, in laying track, I widened the gauge upon 
curves, but having turned over the road to the operating department 
upon its completion, 1 had no opportunity to further study the 
experiment, and have therefore remained silent. 

During a recent visit to the road referred to, I learned something 
further about it, which may, perhaps, be interesting to the members 
of our Society; certainly to those who have to do with railroads. 

The experiment alluded to above was made upon the Burlington and 
Missouri River Railroad, in jSTebraska. 

Previous observation had shown me that, though the tracks upon 
the straight lines and upon the curves had been originally laid to the 
same gauge, the gauge upon the curves was soon widened out by use. 
I do not now remember whether my observation showed a move- 
ment of but one, or of both rails, but I concluded that the widening of 
gauge was due to the stiffness of car trucks, and their failure fully 
to traverse upon the curvt-s, and noi to centrifugal motion. Jf this 
were the fact, it would even then be probable that the exterior rail 
of the curve would suffer the greater movement. Simple stiffness of 
trucks would be likely to affect both rails equally, but adding to this 
intluence that of centrifugal force, unless it be fully counteracted by 
difference of elevation, and the exterior rail would show the greater 
displacement. 

This condition of things showed a want o^ fitness between the track 
and the rolling stock, and a consequent unnecessary, if avoidable, 
wear and tear upon both, and a waste of motive power. 

It seemed to me that if the moving trains were hound to take more 
room betv/een the rails, that it would be better to give it to them at the 
first Then the rails would be firmly seated and remain in their 
places. If this is not done, and the rails are laid to straight line, or 
cZo.se gauge, then the heads of the rails will be forced apart, the rails 
will be tipped on to their outer edges, either cutting into the ties or 
pulling their interior spikes, or both, thus loosening and disjointing 
the whole permanent way. So long as the gauge remains too narrow 
for the trains, there must result from the friction between the wheel 
flanges and the rails great wear and destruction of i)oLh. 

If the gauge of curves be made open and loose, the coning of wheels 
will be utilized. 



89 

And, farther, an engine will haul a larger load than if tlie train is 
pinched between rails too closely laid. 

And, what is perhaps of more importance than anything tdse, 
greater aafety is secured upon a track with an open gauge, in which the 
rails are tiimly secured in the places where they are to remain, than 
upon a loosened and deformed track. 

Upon the main line of the Nebraska road, the curve of greatest 
radius is a 80' curve, and of least radius a 3° 80' curve. In laying 
track on all curves of less than 2° the gauge was increased from 
straight line gauge -} inch, or to 4 feet 8| inches, and 2° curves and 
over were laid to a gauge of 4 feet 9 inches, being an increase of ^ an 
inch over straight line gauge. Three sets of gauges were furnished 
the section men, of the lengths stated above for the curves, with the 
usual straight line gauge of 4 feet 8^ inches, and the men were h^ld to 
the use of them, until the road was turned over to the operating 
department by the engineering and constructing dep irtment. 

At that time a new road- master came in, who eithei- did not under- 
stand, or did not appreciate what had been done by his predecessors, 
and curved track was gradually brought to the straight line gauge of 
4 feet 8-|- inches. 

Since ihis road-master left, the tracks upon the curves, while under- 
going repairs, have been restored to their original gauges, and have 
so remained now for several years. The man now^ in charge says 
that the practice gives great satisfaction ; that the tracks upon the 
curves are maintained in good condition, at very little expense ; that 
the ivear of rails is sensibl}^ diminished ; that the engines can haul a 
maximum load, and that no no accidents have occurred from increas- 
ing the gauge. 

I have been told that, on hearing of laying track wilh open gauge 
upon curves, the officers of the Atcheson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Rail- 
road adopted the plan for their road. 

As there was but one curve on the Nebraska road of shorter radius 
than that of a 8° curve, no attempts were made to widen gauge, more 
than the ^ inch alluded to. I have no doubt, however, that it would 
be entirely safe and wise to widen to the extent of one inch, or 
slightly more. The tread of our railroad car wheels is suflScient to pre- 
vent the wheel from dropping from the rail even then, and if laid 1^ 
inches open, the tread of the wheel, as now made, would cover about 
all of the tread of the rail. 

Since writing the above I have had occasion to refer to the matter 
of resistance of curves to trains; and in an article by liaron Von Weber 
I hnd the subject of widening gauge on curves incidentally alluded to. 
I was therefore mistaken in sayinir that the matter hatl no further 
attention since the inquiry of the Gazette had been made, but as it did 
not appear under a head distinctly bringing the subject to notice, it 
may have escaped the eye of the original inquirer, as it did mine. 



90 



The experiments of Von Weber were made in 1870-7-8, and his 
article entitled "Train llesistaiice ou Curves" appeared in the 
Sailroad Gazette of June 11,1(S80. 

Item No. 9 of a summary of the above is as follows : A reduc- 
tion of the additional width of gauge on curves custt>mary on tlie 
l^avarian roads, one half or more, contrary to expectation, caused an 



increase in the resistance, 
roads is : — 



The additional widtli jjiven on these 




This result, however, cannot as yet be considered as fully estab- 
lished. This is the end of the quotation. 

It would seem, then, that the widening of curve gauge upon the 
railroads of J3avaria is now usual, but how far back the custom ex- 
tends is not shown by Yon Weber's article. 

It appears from the experiments that the reducing of the additional 
width of gauge increased the resistance to the passage of trains. The 
converse would therefore be true, within certain limits, that an ad- 
ditional width of gauge w^ould decrease the resistance. This is in 
accordance with my own theory and experience, and it is to be hoped 
engineers will give the matter further attention and experiment. 

The gauge of the tracks of Bavarian railroads is not given in Yon 
Weber's article ; but presuming it to be not very different from the 
standard American of 4.71 feet, there seems to be a very close agree- 
ment between the additional widenings which I gave the curves of 
different degrees in 1870, and those which are now used on the Bava- 
rian railroads. 

If I had been living in a country, or at a time, when engineers were 
expected to think and work in metrical terms, there might have been 
a still closer agreement. 



\_Adjourned.'] 



S. E. TINKIIAM, 

^Secretary, 



7 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



Note. — This Si)ciety is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinions advanced in any of its pnblications. 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, JANUARY, 1881.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Jan. 19, 1881. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, President Thomas Doane in the chair, and seven- 
teen members present (Bradley, Brooks, Cheney, Eaton, A. W. 
Forbes, Fuller, Grant, Howe, Howland, Lunt, May, W. E. McClin- 
tock, Philbrick, L. F. Rice, Sampson, Tinkham, Whittaker). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The committee appointed to consider the communication of Mr. W. 
E. Pettee submitted the following report, which was accepted : — 

BosTOi^, Jan. 19, 1881. 

The committee to whom was referred the communication of William 
E. Pettee, civil engineer and surveyor, of Lakeville, Ct., in relation 
to the importance and propriety of having issued by this Society a 
work on the " Law and Practice for Land Surveyors in the New 
England States," would respectfully report: That while they fully 
appreciate the need of some such manual or guide as recommended by 
Mr. Pettee, they are of the opinion that its preparation would hardly 
come within the province of a society like this. 

They feel that the practice of land surveyors in New England is 
very simple and generally understood, and that such a work should 
emanate from the department of " Law and Conveyancing," rather 
than from a society like this. 

They also think that it would be improper to divert the funds of the 
Society to such a work, but would be pleased if any individual mem- 
ber of the Society or other qualified person would undertake it as a 



92 

private enterprise, and believe they could assure such person the 
heart}" co-operation of the Society. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Thomas Doane, 
Thomas W. Davis, 
Joseph H. Curtis, 
i Committee. 

The Committee on Joint Publication of Proceedings submitted a 
repoi-t (printed on page 83), and recommended that the following 
Articles of Association, adopted at the meeting of delegates at Chicago, 
Dec. 4, 1880, be ratified by this Society : — 

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION. 

For the purpose of securing the benefits of closer union and the ad- 
vancement of mutual interests, the engineering societies and clubs 
hereunto subscribing have agreed to the following: — 

ARTICLE I. 

NAME AND OBJECT. 

The name of this Association shall be " The Association of 
Engineering Societies." Its primary object shall be to secure a 
joint publication of the papers and transactions of the parLicipating 
societies. 

ARTICLE IL 

ORGANIZATION. 

Section 1. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by a 
Board of Managers under such rules and by-laws as they may deter- 
mine, subject to the specific conditions of these articles. The Board 
shall consist of one representative from each society of one hundred 
members or less, with one additional representative for each additional 
one hundred members, or fraction thereof over fifty. The members of 
the Board shall be appointed as each society shall decide, and shall 
hold office until their successors are chosen. 

Sect. 2, The officers of the Board shall be a cliairman and secre- 
tary, the latter of whom may or may not be himself a member of the 
J^pard. 

ARTICLE IIL 

duties of officers. 

Section 1. The Chairman, in addition to his ordinary duties, shall 
countersign all bills and vouchers before payment, and present an 
annual report of the transactions of the Board; which report, together 
■y^ith ^ synopsis of the other general transactions of the Board of 



93 

interest to members, shall be published in the Journal of the Asso- 
ciation. 

Sect. 2. The Secretary shall be the active business agent of the 
Board, and shall be appointed and removed at its pleasure. He shall 
receive a compensation for his services, to be fixed from time to time 
by a two-thirds vote. He shall receive and take care of all manu- 
script copy, and prepare it for the press, and attend to the forwarding 
of proof-sheets and the proper printing and mailing of the publications. 
He shall have power, with the approval of any one member of the 
Board, to return manuscript to the author for correction if in bad con- 
dition, illegible, or otherwise conspicuously deficient or unfit for publi- 
cation. He shall certify to the correctness of all bills before transmit- 
ting them to the chairman for counter-signature. He shall receive all 
fees and moneys paid to the Association, and hold the same under such 
rules as the Board shall prescribe. 

ARTICLE ly. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

Section 1. Each society shall decide for itself what papers and 
transactions of its own it desires to have published, and shall forward 
the same to the Secretary. 

Sect. 2. Each society shall notify the Secretary of the minimum 
number of copies of the joint publications which it desires to receive, 
and shall furnish a mailing list for the same from time to time. Copies 
ordered by any society may be used as it shall see fit. Payments by 
each society shall in general be in proportion to the number of copies 
ordered, subject to such modification of the same as the Board of Man- 
agers may decide, by a two-thirds vote, to be more equitable. Assess- 
ments shall be quarterly in advance, or otherwise, as directed by the 
Board. 

Sect. 3. The publications of the Association shall be open to pub- 
lic subscription and sale, and advertisements of an appropriate charac- 
ter shall be received, under regulations to be fixed by the Board. 

Sect. 4. The Board shall have authority to print with the joint 
r)ublications such abstracts and translations from scientific and pro- 
fessional journals and society transactions as may be deemed of gen« 
eral interest and value. 

ARTICLE V. 

conditions of participation. 

Section 1. Any society of engineers may become a member of this 
Association by a majority vote of the Board of Managers, upon pay- 
ment to the Secretary of an entrance fee of fifty cents for each active 
member, and certifying that these Articles of Association have been 
duly accepted by it. Other technical organizations may be admitted 



94 

by a two-thirds vote of the Board, and payment and subscription as 
above. 

Sect. 2. Any society may withdraw from this Association at the 
end of any fiscal year by giving three months' notice of such intention, 
and shall then be entitled to its fair proportion of any surplus in the 
treasury, or be responsible for its fair proportion of any deficit. 

Sect. 3. Any society may, at the pleasure of the Boaid, be ex- 
cluded from this Association for non-payment of dues after thirty 
days' notice from the Secretary that such payment is due. 

J AETICLE yi. 

AMENDMENTS. 

These articles may be amended by a majority vote of the Board of 
Managers, and subsequent approval by two thirds of the participating 
societies. 

ARTICLE YII. 

TIME OF GOING INTO EFFECT. 

These articles shall go into effect whenever they shall have been 
ratified by three societies, and members of the Board of Managers 
appointed. The Board shall then proceed to organize, and the entrance 
fee of fifty cents per member shall then become payable. 



After a lengthy discussion, on motion of Mr. Philbrick it was Voted: 
That the Articles of Association of the Association of Engineering So- 
cieties, as printed in the proceedings of the meeting of delegates, at 
Chicago, Dec. 4, 1880, be, and the same are hereby ratified by this 
Society. 

Mr. S. E. Tinkham was elected as the representative of the Society 
on the Board of Managers of the Association of Engineering Socie- 
ties, and the sum of $47 was appropriated from the treasury as the 
entrance fee of the Society in said Association. 

On motion of Mr. Fuller, it was Voted: That it is the sense of, this 
Society that the plan of an independent publication of the joint pro- 
ceedings as proposed by Mr. Wellington be adopted. 

Mr. Brooks gave notice of a proposed amendment to the By-Laws, 
by striking out the present Article 12, and inserting, "The Secretary 
€X officio shall be the Society's representative on the Board of Man- 
agers of the Association of Engineering Societies." 

It was Voted: " That the seal procured by the government be, and 
the same is hereby adopted by this Society as its official seal; that it 
be placed in the custody of the Secretary, who is aulhoiized to affix it 
to all documents requiring his attestation." 

The Government were instructed to subscribe to the " Electrician," 



95 

published in London; also to bind the periodicals subscribed to for 
1880, the total expense not to exceed $50. 

Mr. John R. Freeman was elected a member of the Society. 

Mr. Edward S. Shaw was proposed for membership by Messrs. R. E. 
Woodward and S. E. Tinkham. 

The Secretary read the following paper, prepared by the late E. N. 
Winslow. It was found among his papers after his decease, and given 
to the Society by his widow. Althoug^h evidently but the rough outlines 
of what be had proposed presenting to the Society, it has been thought 
best to print it in the condition left by him. 

FALL RIYER BRIDGE. 

BY THE LATE E. N. WINSLOW. 

The superstructure of said bridge is of wrought iron throughout, 
except bases of end posts and flooring, and is the Whipple plan of 
trusses, with double intersections, pin-connections, a deck and through 
bridge, with the railroad track on top. 

The substructure is pneumatic piles of hard, light-gray cast iron, 
with the carbon well combined with the metal, of about 16,000 lbs. 
per square inch tensile strength. 

A charter was granted May, 1852, for a bridge across Taunton Great 
River, at Slade's Ferry. Various plans were suggested and considered, 
but none appeared very practicable or feasible, owing to the great 
depth of water (about 60 feet) and other obstacles, until I proposed 
that of pnuematic piles. Several cases of such piles existed, viz., the 
Harlem River Bridge, in New York City, and the bridge across the 
Missouri River, at Omaha. Although the conditions in either of above 
cases were quite different from ours, still it was quite reasonable to 
conclude that no very serious obstacles could be encountered. 

To inspire confidence in my directors, I went to Albany, and spent 
several days with Mr. Wm. J. McAlpine, who had built the bridge at 
Harlem River, U. S. Dry Dock, at Brooklyn, and stood at the very 
head of his profession in this country. After discussing various plans, 
he heartily approved my notions, and gave me the greatest encour- 
agement, which I somewhat needed at the time, being in very feeble 
health. 

I was now permitted to proceed with the work, and having ordered 
a few cylinders at the Builders' Iron Foundr}', Providence, B. I., pro- 
ceeded to make up a plant for handling the cylinders and sinking tbe 
columns. 

For this purpose two large scows were purchased, each measuring 
on deck about 80 feet in length, 5 feet in depth, and 20 feet in width. 
These scows were placed side by side about 9 feet apart, and con- 
nected by four 18" timbers, extending across both from outside to out- 
side, and firmly bolted thereto. A derrick about 50 feet in height, 
with legs of timber 12" square, was erected on the two middle tim- 



96 

bers, so that the great weight was distributed uniformly over the 
two scows. A centre beam about 10 feet in length, and very strong, 
was framed across the top of the derrick, to which two large blocks 
and falls were attached, to hoist the cylinders into place, and in 
some cases to help support the column. 

The cylinders were allowed to slide through a clamp made of two 12" 
timbers, connected by large rods with nuts at each end, on which 
were notched two friction blocks about 4 feet long, and perpendicular 
to the clamp. Another clamp was placed above, and the two sets sup- 
ported on the scows by eight large jack-screws, which served to cant 
or lift the pile, as circumstances require. The scows were held in 
position by several large anchors. 

The method of using the pneumatic process is as follows : The 
pile consists of a number of cast-iron cylinders 8 feet in diameter out- 
side, and in 10-foot lengths, one on top of the other, until the desired 
length is obtained, each cylinder being provided with flanges on the 
inside for holding them together by means of forty-seven 1^" wrought- 
iron bolts. After the column is landed, another cylinder of cast iron, 
called the air-lock, is bolted to its top. This air-lock has a top and 
bottom plate of cast iron in which are man-holes that can be closed at 
pleasure by plates with hinges opening at the lower sides, and lined 
with rubber at the joints. In the top and in the diaphragm or bottom 
plate are placed air-cocks for equalizing pressure, etc. 

The air pump was a Burleigh compressor, which I got at the East 
Eiver Bridge, N. Y., which proved just competent for the work. I 
sometimes regretted that I had not a larger pump, but it proved quite 
sufficient. 

A pipe conveyed the air into a receiver, where it was cooled before 
it entered the column. The lower man-hole is then closed, and the air 
forced into the column. With the first stroke of the pumps the oper- 
ation of compressing the air commences, and as this pressure increases 
it forces the water out through the open bottom. This continues until 
the pressure of air equals that due to the head of water outside the 
column, and the water has all been forced outside. The workmen then 
enter the air-lock, and, closing the upper man-hole, a cock is opened 
in the lower diaphragm and the compressed air from below is admitted. 
When the pressure has become equalized, the lower man-hole plate 
falls open, and the men pass down on a ladder (of ropes) to the bed of 
the river, to excavate the material in the column. If it is hard, it is 
raised in canvas bags to the air-lock, by means of a drum, the shaft of 
which passes through stuffing-boxes to the outside, where it is worked 
by hand. When the column has been entirely cleared down to the 
bottom, the workmen ascend into the air-lock, and, closing the lower 
valve, the compressed air in the air-lock is allowed to escape, the 
upper man-hole plate falls open, the men pass out, and the bags of 
material are removed. 



97 

Men are then stationed at the hoisting apparatus, and the cock in the 
0-inch blow-off pipe, curved at the top, is opened, and the compressed 
air in the column allowed to escape quickly; ihe weight is thus sud- 
denly restored with an effect similar to a blow, while, at the same 
time, the rapid in-rush of water under the bottom causes a complete 
scouring of the material at and under the sharp edge of the column, 
so that it sinks to a considerable depth, frequently 8 or 10 feet. 

The friction of the outside of the column against the material throuorh 
which it passes is greatly diminished by the current of water passing 
along its surface on its way down to the inside. 

If no bowlders are met, the column will continue to settle quite 
rapidly during the time the air is escaping, and afterward until the 
material has stopped scouring under the edges, and has compacted it- 
self, under the pressure of the water, hard enough to sustain the weight 
of the column. 

When bowlders or other obstructions are met with, the column stops, 
and then is recharged with air. The workmen descend and remove 
the obstruction, and the process already described is repeated. In 
this manner columns may be sunk to any required depth, even to 
more than 100 feet. The greatest depth below the surface of the 
water in our case was 84 feet. The pressure due to this depth is 
about 45 lbs. to a square inch over the atmospheric pressure, or with 
the latter added, GO lbs.; but this was sometimes a little increased to 
drive out the water through the compacted material around the outside 
of the column. 

In the case of the deepest piers, two sets of clamps, with their friction 
blocks, were used, and in eveiy case a diaphragm, usually of wrought 
iron, with a man-hole in the centre, about 2 feet square, was bolted 
in at the top of the bottom section; this was to prevent the column 
going too far when let go the first time, for, if it gets out of plumb, it 
is difficult to restore it; and it was also used to hold the ballast of stone, 
which was usually put in the second section. Diaphragms of wood, 
one foot thick, were usually laid on the flanges at each alternate 
section, for the purpose of holding the ballast or load which was 
used to prevent the column from popping up when the pressure was 
high. This filling of stone was at last used to lay in cement in the final 
filling of the column. 

After a column had reached the requisite depth it was cleaned out, 
and the sealing commenced; it was then perfectly adjusted to the line 
and grade, and held in position by the clamps and plant. The pressure 
is kept up so that no water could enter, and cement laid over the bottom, 
in a thickness of 3 inches, and this was repeated as fast as it set, until 
(in the deep piers) some 2^ feet in thickness was laid, the pressure 
being kept up all this time, — perhaps forty-eight hours. The pres- 
sure was then let off, the air-lock taken off, and men went down and 
commenced filling in cement concrete of the stone used above for 



98 

weight when setth'ng. In this manner, with a lining of inch creosoted 
boards on the outside, to admit of contraction of column when exposed 
to cold, the masonry was carried to within 18 inches of the top, and 
smoothed off to receive the cap-stone, which was about 18 inches in 
thickness, of granite nicely dressed, and extended about 3 inches 
above top of the iron column. The cap was of cast iron, about 3 
inches in thickness, with a flange 6 inches in depth, weighing about 
four tons, which was laid on the top of the cap-stones in a thin coat- 
ing of cement. 

The wrought-iron spans, 155 feet in length, were each erected 
on two large scows, and floated to their places and landed without any 
difficulty. The only accident that occurred was in sinking one of the 
deep piles, when the top of the air-lock blewoif, resulting in the death 
of five persons who were in the cylinder at the time, and was probably 
caused by a strain or flaw in the casting, or perhaps by an overstrain 
in the bolts of the flanges. 

The bridge was originall}' contemplated to be entirely of iron; but 
afterwards, with the view to economy (?),it was decided to put spans of 
wood and trestles at the ends; also the guard piers for the draw were 
put on wooden piles, which were creosoted. 

I ought not to close my description and remarks without an acknowl- 
edgment of my indebtedness to Mr. W. G. Coolidge, of Chicago, 111., 
and Mr. Job Abbott, of Canton, O., for their valuable advice; the first 
in the matter of the substructure, and the latter of the superstructure 

In this connection I would like to call your attention to a draw or 
pivot pier in the Somerset bridge, opposite the village of Somerset, in 
the same river, which I built in. 1866, about fourteen years ago. There 
is nothing very peculiar about it, except perhaps the pivot or draw pier, 
which was built in a caisson on a grillage about 5 feet in thickness. 

Piles were driven about 2 feet apart centres, and cut off* at level of 
bottom of the river, in about 36 feet of water. The caisson built 
on shore was then floated over them, guide piles driven, and the 
masonry built up within the caisson, which was kept in position by 
the guide piles until it reached the bottom. 

After the completion of the pier, it was ballasted with copper slag 
from Taunton, which made an elFectual protection against the ravages 
of the teredo, which is abundant in this river. It is an entirely suc- 
cessful structure, having withstood the blows of vessels and trains for 
fourteen years, without showing any indication of change. Two years 
ago the pier was raised about 3 feet, a heavy drum admitting of 
it, which brings all the iron work at the centre of the draw above the 
highest tides. 

I see no reason why this pier may not stand for centuries if the 
worms do not penetrate the copper slag, and attack the grillage. 

The piles of this bridge were creosoted, but the worms have worked 
where the piles were pricked with cant hooks, and fitted for driving, so 



99 

that it has been necessary to renew some for a few years past, until 
this year we shall have to renew about the last of the original 
piles. 

We have the usual plant for creosotius:, but the timber has varied 
very much, some being quite green, while other has been dry. I 
am satisfied that worms do not enjoy eating the creosote, still they 
work in close proximity to it. In Europe, I have been told, they have 
succeeded better than we in the penetration of the " creosote of com- 
merce," — product of coal tar; if so, they must get better results. 

< 

In response to several inquiries made at the time the above paper 
was read, the President has obtained the following from Mr. Geo. S. 
Morrill, engineer of the Old Colony Kailroad, who was Mr. Winslow's 
assistant in building the bridge: — 

" That the tidal currents of Taunton River were, perhaps, four to 
five miles per hour, and that there was no perceptible scour at the 
bottom. 

" That the bottom was usually of mud, overlying gravel and coarse 
stones, making almost a hard pan, and that in some cases the cylin- 
ders, in order to secure as much penetration for stability as possible, 
went to rock, which was a sort of slate. 

'' In the case of one pier, the two legs were of unequal length, one 
resting in the hard pan, the other going some 20 feet further 
through the coarse material into sand, and stopping in the sand. The 
longest leg in the piers of the bridge was the one here alluded to, and 
some 85 feet long. The two cylinders in the piers were placed 
about 21 feet apart, centre to centre. 

" That he had never estimated the cost per foot of sinking the cylin- 
ders; that the comi)any commenced the work, and, after sinking 
several, the remainder of the work was let by contract. 

" That at the time the air-lock was blown off, and several men were 
killed, some of those within the cylinder escaped with slight injury, 
being again at work in a few days. Those workmen who were exposed 
to the force of the escaping air, that is, straddling the holes through 
which men and material passed up, were either blown against some 
projecting parts of the various floors, or thrown out of the cylinder, 
falling into the water, and tlius were killed; while those who were 
protected by some projection, and out of the way of the outgoing cur- 
rent of escaping air, suffered little injury. 

" It seems, then, that the sudden exi)ansion of the air within the 
body or the lungs was not fatal or particularly injurious to the men, 
but that the deaths were due to being violently thrown against some 
obstacle by the force of the released air." 

Mr. a. H. Howland described the construction of the Groveland 
bridge, one of the spans of which fell on the afternoon of Jan. 13, 
1881, substantially as follows : — 



100 

The bridge crosses the Merrimac River from Groveland, on the 
south side, to Haverhill, on the north. It is of iron, and consists of six 
spans of 125 feet and one draw span of 50 feet at the centre. The 
roadway is 26 feet wide ; there are no sidewalks ; horse-cars run along 
the west side of the roadway. The bridge was built some eight years 
ago, and cost S80,000 including masonry. The span that fell is the 
second from the south, and gave way under a four-horse team with a 
load of shingles, the whole weight of which is said to have been about 
six tons. 

Each span has two bow-string girders 125 feet long, 26 feet apart, 
and 12 feet 3 inches high at centre. There are fourteen panels, and 
their lengths each way from the centre are successively about 10, 10, 
10, 9, 8, 7, and 8 feet. The arch is of the closed box form, composed 
of two 13" X V' plates on edge, and two 7h" channel bars, the whole 
curved to a radius of about 160 feet ; there is also a 7^" channel bar 
inside for three or four panels at each end. A cast-iron shoe receives 
the end of the arch, and the thrust is resisted by a bottom chord Com- 
posed of two bars, 6" X 1" on edge, the ends being forged to 2^" round, 
which is reduced to 2" at root of thread ; 13 feet each way from centre 
of span there is a joint in bottom chord, the connection being made by 
a pin through eyes formed on the bars. The cast shoe rests on a 
cast bearing which is bolted to the masonry, the shoe being free to 
slide except as prevented by friction. There are no rollers at either 
end. 

Each post is a 3f'' star iron, both its ends being forged to 1|^'' round, 
and provided with one nut at top and two at bottom. 

The diagonals are from 1^" to 1'' diameter, with nuts at ends. 

Posts and diagonals all pass through the arch to bevelled washers 
and nuts on top. Their connection at bottom chord is by an upper 
and a lower cast washer, which clasp the chord bars on the edges. 
These washers depend upon friction to prevent sliding along the bot- 
tom chord. The floor beams are 4" X 15" hard pine, 2 feet on centres. 
They are supported on the edges of the bottom chord, being notched 
down 2". There are two courses of plank, 4" and 2". Each arch is 
braced on the outside at five points by 3' star iron fastened to a 7^" 
channel iron, that passes under the floor and extends each way beyond 
the girders from 3 to 4 feet. 

The top lateral system consists of four transverse struts spaced 17 
feet apart over the central part of the span, and diagonals of ^" 
diameter. These laterals are at a level about 4 feet above the crown 
of the arch, with which they are connected by cast-iron standards. 
Each of the struts is formed of four l^^" star irons, connected by cast 
spacers at five points, and drawn together at the ends and forged 
into Ij^" round, which passes through the top of the cast standard; 
the strut is swelled to about a foot diameter at centre. A %" rod 
reaches from the top of each outer cast standard obliquely down- 
ward to arch towards its end. 



101 

The bottom laterals are %" diameter, reaching from each panel 
point of one girder to the second point beyond on the other girder. 

The precise point at which the failure began is a matter of conjecture, 
from the wreck is nearly all out of bight, under the ice ; but it is of no 
great consequence to determine it, for the strains due to the weight of 
the structure alone were fully up to the safe limit, being as high as 
15 000 lbs. per square inch in tension for the principal members. 

1 am told that at certain hours of the day two horse-cars have fre- 
quently crossed the bridge close together, packed with passengers, to 
the number of perhaps 150. That the list of killed and wounded does 
DOt include that number, instead of one person seriously injured, 
seems to have been a matter of chance, in which the event was con- 
trary to the heavy preponderance of probabilities. To the general 
public, and the authorities responsible for sutficiency of our bridges, the 
warning is as serious as if long lists of casualties had been spread 
before them instead of a brief paragraph. But for engineers the lesson 
is scarcely more than this, — that it is important to use a factor of 
safety. 

Mr. F. L. Fuller reported from " Engineering News " of July 12, 
1879, upon the Victoria bridge at Montreal. 

Mr. C. \V. LuNT reported upon articles of interest in " Van Nos- 
trand's Magazine" for the year 1880, calling particular attention to the 
following : — 

In .Tune number, " A New Method of Decentring Arches." " Port- 
land Cement." 

In December number, " The Belgian System of Shaft-Sinking." 

[^Adjourned.]^ 

S. E. TINKHAM, 
ISecretary. 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



Note. — This Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinious advauced in any of its publications. 



(RECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY, 1881.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, Feb. 16, 1881. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. Henry Manley in the chair, and sixteen mem- 
bers present (Blodgett, Brooks, Carson, Cheney, Curtis, Eaton, 
French, Fuller, Howe, Howland, Kettell, L. F. Rice, Shepard, 
Tinkham, Whitney, Whittaker). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The government of the Society submitted a report in relation to the 
reinvestment of the funds of the Society, and, in accordance with its 
recommendation, the following votes were passed : — 

Voted, That the Treasurer be instructed to sell the $1,000 United 
States bond now in his possession. 

Voted, That the Treasurer be instructed to purchase for the 
Society two (2) bonds of the Burlington & Missouri River R. R. of 
$600 each, 6 per cent, non-exempt. 

The amendment proposed at the last meeting, striking out Article 
12 of the By-Laws, and inserting " The Secretary, ex officio, shall be 
the Society's representative on the Board of Managers of the Associa- 
tion of Engineering Societies," was adopted. 

The Committee on Introduciion of the Metric System submitted a 
report, which was read, and ordered to be printed in the proceedings. 

The Secretary was instructed to print the following note in all 
future publications of the Society : — 

"This Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinions advanced in any of its publications." 

Mr. Edward S. Shaw was elected a member of the Society. 

Mr. George W. Blodgett read a paper on " Railroad Signals." 

^Adjourned.'] 

S. E. TINKHAM, Secretary. 



104 



RAILROAD SIGXALS. 

BY GEORGE W. BLODGETT. 

A Paper read b<fore the Boston Society of Chil Engineers, Feb. 16, 1881. 

Mr. President and Gentler)ien^ — When your Board of Government, 
some time ago, invited me to read a paper before you on this subject, 
and after some hesitation, I accepted the invitation, I anticipated far 
Hiore leisure than my professional duties have allowed me; and I eome, 
feeling that I have done scant justice to a subject which some one who 
could have treated it better would have made far more entertaining 
and instructive to you. I simply propose to tell you what, so far as I 
know, has been accomplished in the direction of signals for railroads. 

The grow^th of railroads of this country and of Europe, from small 
and insignificant beginnings to a gigantic network of steel and iron, 
like the web of some mammoth spider, the meshes of whose net bring 
into close connection distant cities, and open the market-place of each 
product to all the world, has brought into being many great industries, 
having for iheir very raison d^etre railroads, and which give employment 
to multitudes of men and millions of capital. 

I am not, however, to speak to you of these, interesting as they are, 
but of appliances of a unique character, viz., such as are designed to pre- 
vent certain classes of accidents to or by railway trains. 

This system, with its growth in importance, has grown also more and 
more destructive of human life and of property. When a railway ac- 
cident was an almost unheard-of thing, it shocked and appalled the com- 
munity like a divine judgment. Now it is of so common occurrence 
that the slaughter of to-day is forgotten to-morrow, and taken to be the 
natural order of things. 

Thoughtful and ingenious men have, however, long sought some 
means of preventing the various classes of accidents to which railway 
trains are liable, such as collisions, misplaced switches, open draw- 
bridges, broken rails, etc., and out of their thought and ingenuity have 
grown the devices I am to speak to you about. Some have been many 
years in use, and some are but just now invented; some have great 
merit, while others are of doubtful utility. I could not have time, even 
had I the necessary knowledge, to mention even the name and the 
nature of all the different devices that have been produced. I shall 
briefly mention a portion of them, and those which seem to me the best. 

I shall discuss, first, such as are designed to protect the trains them- 
selves, and afterwards such as are to warn the public in general of the 
presence of danger and liability to accident. 

I cannot say what was the nature of the first device for protecting 
railway trains, but undoubtedly it was a mechanical instrument of 



105 

some sort. Other apparatus has probably long since superseded it 
The convenience and facility with Avhich electricity may be applied to 
mechanism renders its use often highly opportune; and many such 
instruments have appeared using electricity for one purpose or another. 
Others have been operated by compressed air, and others still bv 
clock-work. • ■^ 

Among the first electric devices for signals which I have found any 
account of was one in which a battery and telegraphic apparatus were 
carried on the train, and at a stated distance before reachin- a station 
two springs projecting beneath the locomotive made connection with 
two metallic conductors beneath the cars, which transmitted to the 
station notice of the approach of the train. On the locomotive itself 
was placed a signal device (operated by an electro-magnet), which by 
motion m one direction or the other, showed whether the track was 
clear or not, according to the direction in which the current was sent 
at the station. This is said to have been in successful operation in 
England since 1853. 

The next step was to make the system automatic, that is, operate 
entirely without the aid of employes. 

One of the first automatic systems was that of Du Moncel, in 
France, one of the most ingenious and skilful workers who have Any- 
thing to do with electric apparatus. 

Without attempting to enumerate or describe to you the foreio-n sys- 
tems which have been invented, let me call your attention to some 
that have appeared in this country. One of the oldest that has come 
into any extensive use, and one of the best, is that known as '' HalFs 
Automatic System." This was invented about the year 1869, by Mr. 
Thomas S. Hall (lately deceased), and since that time greatly per- 
fected and extended. It was once exhibited before you, and I do not 
therefore need to give it that particular description which it would 
otherwise merit. One or two things which have been improved since 
that time, however, are well worthy of mention; and first let me speak 
of the switch signal An instrument of cast iron, standing about two 
feet high, is placed at the side of the track, about four feet from the 
switch and three feet from the rail. (It is preferable to place it; 
on the side where the switch-rod is, but it is not indispensable.) This 
IS connected to the switch-rails by a lever, having a shoe at the end 
which clasps the under side af the rail; at the other end it connects 
with the lower end of a vertical rod, which carries at its upper end, on 
a rod running through it at right angles, an insulated roller at each 
end, one of which rollers, when the switch is thrown from the main 
line, rolls over a flat spring of suitable shape, which closes an electric 
circuit and sets the signal at danger. When the switch is on the main 
Ime, this roller fits into a recess or depression in the spring, which 
allows the circuit to remain open until the switch is moved. The 
normal position of the other spring is to remain in contact with the 



106 

point to which the ciiirent is conducted. The circuit connected with 
the instrument which reverses the signals, and places them n.t safety^ 
runs through this side of each and every switch mac^hiue connected 
with these signals. When the switches are all on the main line the 
circuit is complete, so far as they are concerned, and the signals can 
be reversed; but if any one of them be moved off the main line, the 
roller last mentioned passes into a recess or depression in the spring, 
and ceases to hold it in contact with its stop, and the circuit is there- 
fore incomplete, and the signals cannot be reversed until the switches 
are all replaced on the main line. 

1 think this idea was included in the plan of the system as shown to 
you some years ago, but the mechanism was far inferior to that at 
present adopted. 

The block, or interlocking device, by which each of two signals is 
made to depend on the other, is a prominent and valuable feature of 
this system, and has also been incorporated into several other systems. 
It is not original in this country, but has long been used in England. 
The Massachusetts railroad commissioners say of this principle: — 

" There can be no doubt that for security from rear collisions, or 
from accidents occurring by reason of misplaced switches, or open 
drawbridges, the block system carried out by interlocking switches 
and signals comes nearer to insuring immunity from accident than 
any other known device." 

It secures an interval of space between trains instead of an interval 
of time. The normal position of block signals should be at " danger," 
and they should go to " safety " to allow a train to enter only when the 
way is known to be clear, and should return to " danger " immediately 
when the train has passed. The interlocking of switches with signals 
in the older systems prevented by mechanical means the opening of a 
switch, until a signal of danger had been given, which could not be re- 
versed until the switch was replaced on the main line. This signal of 
danger was, therefore, not dependent on the faithfulness of a man, but 
on mechanical means. In the Hall, and some other American systems, 
the mechanical devices are replaced by electric circuits, which can 
operate at much longer distances, and theoretically at least with 
equal certainty. 

The operation is usually as follows : — 

The track is divided into sections of a mile or more in length, 
according to the nature of the case, and at each point are placed 
two signals at a distance of a few hundred feet apart, connected 
by electric circuits. The nominal position of the first, or danger sig- 
nal, when no train is on the section, is to show a "clear" track, 
while the second, which is designed as a tell-tale for the first, is at 
"danger." As a train enters the section it operates an electric cir- 
cuit by means of suitable mechanism, in such a manner as to set the 
first signal at " danger." When the signal has reached this position, it 



107 

operates another circuit which allows the second signal to show " clear." 
It thus o-lves the engineer of the train notice that the proper signal 
has been set in his rear. If foi- any cause the signals fail to operate, 
the section is still guarded by a '^ danger" signal, and the most harm 
a failure to operate can do is to stop a train. It cannot show a 
" clear " line. 

I must hasten to speak of some other systems. The next prominent 
one to which I shall call your alteniion is that known as the '' Union 
Electric Signal." 

Several advantages claimed for this signal are not provided for by 
other systems. It is but just to say, however, that I have not had 
practical experience of its working, and do not know how fully it ac- 
complishes what it professes. It is operated on the principle of the 
closed or constant electric circuit in which the rails of the track are 
used as conductors, in insulated sections of suitable length. The por- 
tions of track are insulated from each other by means of vulcanite- 
One terminal of the battery is connected with each of the rails, and the 
current also passes through an electro-magnet, the armature of which 
holds the signal at '■ safety" so long as no train or portion of a train is on 
the section. As soon, however, as a train, or even a pair of wheels, 
enters the section from either end, the current ceases to pass through 
the magnet, which then releases its armature. Such act of release 
sets in motion clock-work, which allows the signal to go to ^ danger." A 
second or tell-tale signal, whose normal position is "danger," goes to 
" safety" at the same time, and allows the train to pass. Whtn the 
whole of the train has passed off the section, the current again passes 
through the signals and reverses their position. 

Switches and drawbridges are connected with this system, so that 
the movement of either, or even the act of unlocking, sets a signal. 

The principal advantages it lays claim to are, that so long as even a 
single pair of wheels remains on the section the signal will show '"dan- 
ger," and if a rail be broken or displaced it will be indicated by the 
signals. This system was described with much more extravagant 
claims than I dare make for it here, in the "• Railroad Gazette " last 
year. 

" Rousseau's Safety Railroad Signal" resembles Hall's system in many 
points. It is an open-circuit system, but it also resembles the Union 
system in using gravitation as the means of operating the signal, 
electricity only controlling it. It has been in successful opei'ation on 
the :N'. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. for about five years. 

This, and the preceding, are wrongly styled " automatic." They 
each require the weight actuating the clock-work to be wound up often 
enough to insure the working of the apparatus. The Union system 
is said to operate for six hundred and fifty trains without rewinding, 
the other for three hundred and fifty trains. 
The next to which I would call your attention is " Bean's Atmospheric 



108 

Signal," designed to protect drawbridges and switches. This operates 
by compressing the air in a receptacle which transmits it to the signal 
and sets it at " danger." At the same time an electric circuit is closed, 
which rings a bell and notifies the switchman that the signal has been 
set to danger. It seems worthy a more extended application than it 
has yet received. 

A rod is connected with the switch or drawbridge, which, when the 
switch is moved, pushes a diaphragm from one side of a closed chamber 
to the other. This operation forces the air out of the chamber and 
along a pipe to the signal, where it operates another diaphragm setting 
the signal at •' danger." The return of the switch to the main line causes 
the signal to go to " safety." The electric wire may run in the pipe 
through which the air passes. The pipw may also be buried in the 
earth for better protection. This signal can be applied to stations to 
stop trains in either direction. It has been used to some extent on the 
Old Colony Kailroad. 

The " Locomotive Cab Electric Railway Signal '' is an almost exact 
repetition of the first form of signal which I referred to, except that 
the signal device on the train is an audible, and not a visible one, and 
it is also proposed to apply it to highway crossings and to stations. 
This is not in use, to my knowledge. 

Two other forms of railroad signal using electricity, and of which, so 
far as I know, no description has yet appeared, have seemed to me of 
probable interest to you, and first I wish to mention Mr. Gary's " Mag- 
netic Signal." Although at one time the subject of much unpleasant 
comment, this gentleman has developed by his experiments some very 
curious and remarkable properties of magnets, and has designed a 
railroad signal which is very ingenious, and seems to work well prac- 
tically. It consists of a coil of wire balanced by a spring in such a 
position as to move freely in a vertical direction between the poles of 
a powerful magnet; by each motion past the neutral line (it was dis- 
covered by him that there is a line of no attraction near the surface of 
a magnet, and this he calls the " neutral " line), a current is generated 
in the coil, and this current is transmitted and utilized, where desired, 
by means of suitable apparatus. The model which I saw was arranged 
for a highway crossing, and a small coil 3" long by 2" diameter be- 
tween the poles of magnets about a foot long, and weighing about ten 
pounds, rang quite a large bell wilh considerable force. By a larger 
coil and magnets a more intense current could be generated, with a 
corresponding increase in effect. 

I must now say something to you about signals to protect the pub- 
lic in general from injury by railway trains. So far as this has been 
done at all by signals, it is usually by some audible device, as, for ex- 
ample, a bell placed at the highway crossings and at the stations, which 
is operated by the train when a long distance away, and generally by 
means of an electric circuit. In the Hall system, the most approved 



109 

form at present is for a continuous ringing bell, set in operation when 
the train is half a mile from the station, aud it only ceases when the 
train passes the place where the danger is located. Other systems 
have somewhat similar apjDliances. In conjunction with these, visible 
signals are sometimes used. 

One device, not as yet put in practical operation, is so arranged in 
the model that the passage of the train shall, at a definite distance 
from the crossing, partially lower the gate. This is only a signal of 
warning, and not of danger. When the train approaches nearer, 
and when still at a safe distance from the crossinir, the gate is lowered 
to its proper position, and retained until the train has passed, when it 
is raised to its first position. 

I have thus endeavored to sketch for you briefly the most recent and 
valuable appliances for rendering railway trains more safe to the occu- 
pants and to the general public. None of them are infallible, and none 
can be relied on to the neglect of other safeguards; but they render, 
to a greater or less extent, railroad travel less perilous. Those roads 
which are thoroughly equipped witli a good system of railroad signals, 
not as a substitute for, but an adjunct to other precautions and care, 
are those where fewest and least disastrous accidents are likely to 
occur. 

So long as wheels and rails will break, and obstructions can be placed 
on the track; so long as an employe can be incompetent, incautious, 
inexperienced, or unfaithful, or railway officials miscalculate, or 
badly arrange the running of trains; while any one of these things, 
besides the power of the elements, can occur, so long railway accidents 
can happen; but the public has a right to demand the most faithful and 
efficient service, together with such additional safeguards to life 
and property as experience has shown to be reliable and well adapted 
for the purpose. It cannot require, and it would be unfortunate if it 
could, that a device should be adopted until it has been shown able to 
do this with promptness and efficiency, and to be simple, durable, and 
not likelv to get out of order. 

It is scarcely ten years since railroad signals have been in use to any 
extent in this country. A longer test and further experiment will 
no doubt greatly improve present systems. 

METRIC COMMITTEE'S REPORT. 

To the Boston Society of Civil Engineers: 

The Committee on the Metric System of Weights and Measures pre- 
sents this report in obedience to the vote passed at the last annual 
meeting, March 17,. 1880, that " The Committee on the Metric System 
shall gather, from time to time, and present to the Society, all attain- 
able information relative to the progress toward the introduction of the 
metric system into this country and the world at large." 



110 



FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

As for the world at large, its chief nations, as they have emerged 
from the barbarous state of warring tribes, have passed laws (as the 
United States has done) to make weights and measures uniform 
throughout each nation's domain. Now that international communi- 
cation has been so enormously developed that it is easier than was 
communication between different parts of the same nation at the be- 
ginning of this century, there is exactly the same occasion for laws 
establishing international uniformity. Among foreign nations the 
progress in this direction during the past year has consisted chiefly in 
the execution of laws previously enacted for the adoption of the metric 
system. 

In Sweden, for instance, the beginning of 1881 is the time that was 
fixed for its use to become obligator}^ for customs and postal purposes, 
and for railroad transportation, as was stated in the report of the chief 
clerk of the United States Treasury Department, dated March 26, 
1878. 

In Switzerland, the latest information contained in that report showed 
that the use of the pure mttric system was optional, side by side with 
an old compromise system; it has now been made obligatory. The 
attention of some patriots in the United States is invited to the fact 
that this change was accomplished without bloodshed, and that Swit- 
zerland still maintains a republican form of government. 

In German handbooks of mechanics, Mr. Coleman Sellers states that 
formulas used to be expressed both in meters and in Prussian inches, 
but that with the year 1880 the inch was dropped wherever possible. 

From Greece, a merchant of this city has recently imported wine in 
liters, whereas a few years ago it came in old measures. 

More important to us is the following, quoted from the " Railroad 
Gazette" of July 9, 1880: "The metric system, on the 15th of July, be- 
comes obligatory in the kingdom of Spain and all its colonies, includ- 
ing Cuba, with which our commercial relations are very intimate. The 
Turkish government has also ordered the introduction of this system 
into all its provinces, including Tripolis and Arabia. The cubit gives 
way to the meter in Jerusalem, and the shekel to the kilogram." 

The significance of this lies in the fact that from Cuba, Porto Rico, 
and other Spanish possessions come about one sixth part of our im- 
ports. Before this change our imports from Great Britain and her 
colonies were of nearly the same value as our imports from all countries 
where the metric system is established; the addition, to the latter class 
of our imports from the Spanish colonies will make that class include 
about fifty per cent more than the value we import from Great Britain 
and the British possessions, and will make it amount to more than 



Ill 



half the total imports through the custom-houses of the United 

States.* 

*The following table of our imports from foreign countries, grouped accordii)g 
to their metric legislation, for the year ending June 30, 1877, is taken from the 
report already mentioned of the chief clerk of the Treasury Department, with the 
single change of the Spanish possessions from the class of countries where the 
metric system is legalized to that where its use is obligatory. Austria, Turkey, 
Sweden, and Norway are left just where he placed them aboiit three years ago: — 



Metric System Obligatory. 

Argentine Republic $3,449,559 

Btlgium 5,079,149 

Brazil 43,498,041 

Chili 698,716 

France and French possessions, 52,86'^,387 

Germany 33,035,485 

Greece 523,128 

Italy 7,105,366 

Mexico 15,444,583 

Netherlands 2,547,119 

Peru 1,545,461 

Portugal 624,826 

Roumania , . . • 

San Domingo 560,709 

Spain 3,280,836 

Spanish possessions (Cuba, 

Porto Rico, etc ) 79,544:,185 

Switzerland «... 

United States of Columbia . . . 5,454.393 

Uruguay 2,197,711 



$257,351,654 



Metric System LEGAiiizED. 

Great Britain and British pos- 
sessions $185,667,400 



Metric System PARTiAiiLY in Use. 



Austria 

Azores, Madeira, and Cape de 

Verde Islands 

Central American States . . . 

Denmark 

Japan 

Sweden and Norway 

Turkey in Europe 



$414,020 

92,351 

2,883,602 

9,053 

13,689,433 

243,562 

46,714 

$17,378,735 



Metric System not legalized or in 

Use. 



Danish West Indies 

Dutch East Indies 

Dutch West Indies and Dutch 

Guiana , - 

China 

Greenland . 

Hawaiian Islands 

Hayti 

Liberia 

Russia 

Turkey in Asia and Africa . , 



$284,480 
4,511,444 

735,525 

11,141,447 

137,465 

2,631,763 

3,303,709 

57,470 

618,534 

382,303 

$23,804,140 



SUMMARY. 



Imports from countries where the metric 
system is 



r Obligatory $257,351,654 

I Legalized 185,667,400 

«| Partially in use 17,378,735 

Not legalized or in use 23 804,140 

I Total $484,201,929 



In regard to the British item above, it should be observed that the British col- 
onies do not all use the imperial weights and measures. Mauritius adopted the 
metric system a few years ago; in India its ultimate adoption is provided for by 
the Indian Weights and Measures Act, 1870, but various native units are now 
chiefly used. On the other hand, in some of the countries where the metric sys- 
tem has been made obligatory by law, its introduction has not yet been completely 
effected. 

Another and a more important observation is that the British capacity measures 
are incommensurable with those of the United States. 

It might be added paradoxically that the United States standard of weight is 



112 



UNITED STATES CUSTOM-HOUSES. 

As to legislation, the progress toward the iutroduction of the metric 
system into the United States may be gauged by the fate of the bill, 
H. R., No. 411, introduced in the present Congress April 21, 1879. It 
provides that the ad quantum duties upon articles imported with metric 
invoices shall be assessed at metric rates, which, by throwing off 
awkward fractions, are made to favor very slightly the use of the 
metric system in invoices. 

A year ago the American Metrological Society was circulating a 
memorial in favor of such legislation. The memorial was printed in 
" Engineering News " of March 20, 1880. It was signed by fifty gen- 
tlemen out of eighty-eight, whose names are on the printed list of 
active members of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers dated Jan- 
uary, 1880. It was offered to twenty others, who did not sign it ; and 
your committee does not know of its being presented at all to the re- 
mairiing eighteen. This is believed to be the best test hitherto obtained 
(though an imperfect one) of the opinions of the individual members 
of this Society. The memorial was also signed by about six thousand 
other persons. A memorial against any further legislation to facilitate 
the introduction of the metric system has been circulated (but not in 
the Boston Society of Civil Engineers) by the International Institute 
for Preserving and Perfecting Weights and Measures. It was printed 
in " Engineering News " of April 10, 1880. From the same source 
another memorial to eradicate the metric system from the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey and other government offices is in preparation. 

The following card, dated at Cleveland, April 12, 1880, was issued by 
Charles Latimer, the chief engineer of the New York, Pennsylvania, 
and Ohio Railroad : — 

" As the active executive officer of the International Institute for 
Preserving and Perfecting Weights and Measures, I wish to warn the 
public, and especially mechanics and other workingmen, against the 



very different from that of Great Britain, for in Prof. Hilgard's report ou 
American Standards of Length, dated July 10, 1880 (being Appendix No. 12 to 
the Coast and Geodetic Survey Report for 1877), it is stated that " no enactment 
by Congress has ever been made declaring particular measures in the keeping of 
the goverment as standards except the standard troy pound of the Mint of the 
United States, at Pidladelphia, procured in 1827," etc., but the troy pound has 
been abolished in Great Britain, as may be seen from the compulsory Weights 
and Measures Act, 1878, of the British Parliament. A point of real importance 
is that the British ton is fixed at 2,240 pounds, while the ton of the United States 
is a varying quantity and may be represented by x. 

As there is some nonsense afloat about what is miscalled the "Anglo-Saxon " 
race, your committee remarks that the people of England gracefully submit to 
these " arbitrary" enactments made by their own chosen representatives in Par- 
liament assembled. 



113 

attempts now making to introduce the French metric system into this 
country by a compulsory Act of Congress. This is being done under 
false pretences, by wording their petitions for the people to sign, so as 
to convey the idea that they are asking for a decimal system of weights 
and measures in accord with our decimal system of money, when the 
measure the}'- are trying to secure is the French metric system, pure 
and simple, with all its barbarous Greek and Latin names unknown to 
our people and illy adapted to our language. To accomplish this pur- 
pose, petitions to Congress, asking simply for a decimal system of 
weights and measures, as above stated, are being circulated, while the 
country is being flooded with books, pamphlets, and other puT)licatious 
on the subject, worded in the most specious and attractive style, so as 
to draw the most money from the unwary. The purchase of such 
documents is only a waste of money, tending to evil instead of good, 
making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Besides, many well- 
informed persons are strong in the belief that this whole movement is 
a deliberate attempt to subvert our republican government, to bring 
our people into a condition where such arbitrary measures can be 
forced upon them at the point of the bayonet, if need be." 

In the Civil Engineers' Club of the Northwest, which has now been 
reorganized as the Western Society of Engineers, the following reso- 
lution, moved by Mr. Greeley, was adopted May 4, 1880, by a vote of 
sixteen to thirteen; six of the sixteen affirmative votes and eight of 
the thirteen negative votes were cast by letter ballot or proxy. 

'' Resolved, That in the opinion of this Club the substitution at some 
future time, to be hereafter determined, of the metric system of 
weights and measures for those now in use in the United States, is to 
be desired; and that as a step towards this change, we favor the rec- 
ommendation made at the last session of the Forty-fifth Congress, and 
renewed at the special session of the Forty-sixth Congress, by the 
Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, that an act should be passed requiring the use of the 
metric denominations of weight and measure in the custom-houses of 
the United States." 

During the first annual meeting of the American Society of Mechan- 
ical Engineers, iSTov. 5, 1880, the following resolutions were offered 
by Mr. Henry R. Worthington (who has since died): — 

" Besolved^ That this society deprecates any legislation tending to 
make the adoption of the metric system of measures obligatory in our 
industrial establishments"; also, 

" Hesolved, That the secretary be instructed to communicate the 
sentiments of this resolution to all concerned in procuring such legis- 
lation, and also to send a copy to the Anti-Metric Society of Cleve- 
land." 

A letter ballot was ordered to be taken upon these resolutions. 
Your committee has not yet been honored with any copy from the sec- 



relary, as proposed, but presumes that sooner or later a ballot will be 
taken.- Whatever be the result of this ballot, as a custom-house is 
not considered an " industrial establishment," the world will remain 
in doubt as to what the Mechanical Engineers think about the govern- 
ment's using the metric system in the transaction of its own business 
of collecting specific duties upon such imports as are invoiced in 
meters and kilos. 

A pertinent quotation, though several years earlier in date, may 
be made from the report of a special committee of the American Soci- 
ety of Civil Engineers relative to the memorials which the American 
Metrological Society addressed to a former Congress in behalf of the 
metr c system. The report was signed by R. H. Thurston and J. J. R. 
Croes; it was presented to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 
May 6, 1874, and was laid on the table; the quotation is, " A series of 
legal enactments, carefully considered, cautiously introduced, and 
steadily pursued, is considered the proper, the wisest, and the neces- 
sary course to be pursued in the endeavor to attain these great benefits." 

Bill H. R., No. 411, is still pending in the Forty-sixth Congress. 
The Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures had printed, dur- 
ing the second session, Report No. 203, relating to coinage, and Mis. 
Doc. No. 29, containing Col. Thomas S. Sedgwick's scheme for deci- 
malizing the foot and ounce, and abandoning the present inch, pound, 
and other units, together with a reply from Dr. Culver, the clerk of 
the committee, in advocacy of the metric system. 

PROFESSIONAL USE. 

In advance of any legislation to give people a definite idea at what 
time the change of standard is likely to be effected, the metric weights 
and measures are creeping into actual use; and the perpetual recur- 
rence of references to it in the news of the day foreshadows its coming. 
Previous to our recent national election, a map was published showing 
the distribution of the party votes in the several Congressional dis- 
tricts, on a scale of 1,000 votes to a millimeter. The strength of the 
starving Dr. Tanner was reported in kilos in last summer's n.ews- 
papers; P. T. Barnum advertised the number of square meters of 
canvas provided to shelter his great moral show; M. de Lesseps an- 
nounced in our principal cities, in metric terms, his plans for an inter- 
oceanic canal. (It is not intended to class these gentlemen together 
in other respects.) Our manufacturers occasionally receive a foreign 
order in metric terms; and in some kinds of business there are special 
reasons which favor the adoption of the metric system; so to them we 
naturally turn in looking for the signs of progress. 

Apothecaries, for instance, have intimate relations with the sciences 
of chemistry and medicine, and their partial separation from other 
kinds of business is illustrated by their having had an Apothecaries' 



115 

Weight of their own. The 1S80 edition of the apothecaries' Phar- 
macopoeia, to be published some time hereafter, will be changed 
toward the metric system, as your committee explained a year ago. 
The committee in chaige of the publication met in Washington last 
May, and determined that the Pharmacopoeia shall state ingredients 
by proportion chiefly, and that when an absolute weight is mentioned, 
it shall be in grams, followed by an equivalent in grains; but that no 
pounds, ounces, drachms, scruples, or pennyweights shall appear. This 
will naturally tend to the practical adoption of the metric system by 
druggists and physicians, who constitute a large and influential part 
of our population. 

Another old table different from the measure used in general busi- 
ness was .Surveyors' Measure, in which 10 chains made 1 furlong, and 
the chain (equal to 22 yards) was divided into 100 liuks, each equal to 
7.92 inches. Surveying, and especially railroad surveying, is now very 
extensively done with a chain SH^ yards long, so that 6f such chains 
make 1 furlong; the subdivision is into 100 feet, and the foot is divided 
into tenths, each equal to 1^ inches, and hundredths, each of which is 
4 per cent less than the eighth of an inch. This plainly indicates that 
surveyors are bound to have decimal subdivision, and that they are 
not bound to the customary inch and yard. Prof. H. F. Walling, a 
member of this Society, wrote from Ohio, where he was engagtid in 
making county maps, under date of March 1. 1880: "■ My occupation 
here during the past year has more than ever made it apparent to me 
that, so far as land surveying and conveyancing are concerned, no 
great inconvenience would be experienced from an imaiediate change 
to the metric system, or, at most, but little more than coniinually 
arises from the existing variety of standards. It is very evident to mc 
that the adoption of the metric system would very soon result in the 
saving of a vast amount of vexatious and unnecessary labor to all per- 
sons connected in any way with operations in land. . . . 

'' 1 have trequently found deeds in which dimensions were given 
in chains and links, rods, feet, and inches, and fractions of an inch, all 
in the same conveyance." 

The meter has been made the unit of the triangulation of the New 
York State Survey, with regard to which your committee corresponaed 
with the director, as reported four years ago. 

Upon the charts of the Coast and Geodetic Survey metric linear 
scales have been printed, beginning with the report for 187(5, issued 
during the year 1880. Your committee wrote to the superintendent 
in 1S77, asking if there could be any objection to adopting this practice, 
and reported the fact to you Oct. 17, 1877. 

The Graphic Trigonometer exhibited by Mr. Adams at the meeting 
of this society last October, was constructed to metric dimensions. 

James W. Queen & Co. published, last year, continuous metric profile 
paper, with lines one millimeter apart. As this makes 25 lines to 1 



116 



inch, as nearly as such paper generally measures, it can be used, if 
desired, in connection with our old units. Its general adoption, by 
keeping the metric units before the eye, would tend to make the system 
familiar. The millimeter spacing is good, being midway between Plate 
A (20 lines to an inch) and Plate B (30 lines to an inch), both of which 
are already known to be convenient. It corresponds to Plate C. It 
is amusing to notice that this paper is sold by the yard; as it is already 
marked off according to the metric system, the time may come when 
it will be sold by the meter without remeasurement. The publishers 
state that they find an increasing demand for it; and they have just 
now published sheets of metric cross-section paper, with lines two 
millimeters apart, and every fifth and tenth line made heavier. 

Several new tables containing metric equivalents have been pub- 
lished, the most noteworthy being " Molesworth's Metrical Tables," 
uniform with the same author's " Engineer's Pocket Book," and of con- 
spicuous merit in many particulars, but based on the law of Great 
Britain, which differs from ours in two respects. The imperial ca- 
pacity measures are entirely independent of ours; and Parliament has 
declared that a meter shall be taken as equivalent to 39.3708 inches, 
while our Congress has enacted that it shall be taken as 39.37 inches. 
The meter actually is 39.37043 inches, according to what is accepted 
as the best determination yet made. One of these is based on Capt. 
Kater's determination for the old British yard destroyed by fire in 
1834; one on Capt. Clarke's determination for the new British yard, 
established in 1855; the third is intended to be sufficient for business 
purposes without attempting scientific refinement. These differences 
of less than a thousandth part of an inch are unimportant in commer- 
cial transactions, but are sufficient to produce some annoyance in com- 
putation, especially in square and cubic measure. 

Another point in regard to which uniformity is desirable is the 
practice of abbreviation. The following system of abbreviations, as 
initiated by the Swiss government and approved by the government of 
Italy, has been decided upon by the International Committee of 
Weights, sitting at Paris. The '" Bulletin du Ministre des Travaux 
Publics," and some other French publications, adopt it: — 



Length. 



Kilometer km. 

Meter m. 

Decimeter dm. 

Centimeter cm. 

Millimeter mm. 

Mikron (0.001mm) m- 



117 



Area Square kilometer km^, 

Uektar ha. 

Ar a. 

Square meter. . . . .^. m^. 

Square decimeter dm^. 

Square centimeter , cm^. 

Square millimeter mm^ 

Cubic measure Cubic meter m^. 

Stere s. 

Cubic decimeter dm^. 

Cubic centimeter cm^. 

Cubic millimeter mm^. 

Capacity Hektoliter hi. 

Dekaliter dal. 

Liter 1. 

Deciliter dl. 

Centiliter cl. 

Weight Ton t. 

Metric quintal q. 

Kilo-^ram kg. 

Gram g. 

Decigram dg. 

Centigram eg. 

Milligram nig. 

The increasing use of the metric system in professional literature 
is a symptom of progress which requires a retrospect of several years 
for reliable observation. To present it in definite shape, a count 
has been made of the Iniear scales upjn the illustrations published in 
'• Engineering," the London vreekly, during the years of your com- 
mittee's existence. The followino: table srives the result : — 



Year. 


Number of metric 


Number of non- 


Total number of 


Per cent of metric 

scales in the total 

number. 


linear scales. 


metric linear scales. 


linear scales. 


1875 


38 


169 


207 


.18 


1876 


74 


320 


394 


.18 


1877 


37 


214 


251 


.15 


1878 


79 


262 


341 


.23 


1879 


99 


335 


434 


.23 


1880 


67 


210 


277 


.24 



The last column imperfectly shows the change that is slowly and 
surely taking place in the relative use of the metric and non-m';lric 
measures; how great the relative use is, it does not show; for the 
drawings that are made and figured by the metric system are gener- 



118 

ally published in " Engineering " with the addition of a linear scale of 
feet, though frequently they do not have any metric linear scale; but 
it is very rarely that a drawing in feet has a metric scale av?lded upon 
publication. 

A more marked illustration may be found in the transactions of the 
American Society of Civil Engineers. During 1880, besides the discus- 
sion of interoceanic canal projects, considerable of which was in 
metric measures, there were published three other papers that were 
either written in the metric system or with duplicate metric and old 
values; the society also distributed copies of a report upon the Sao 
Francisco River in Brazil, written chiefly in meters with occasional 
equivalents in parenthesis. Previously to 1880 the use of the metric 
system in that society's transactions consisted of a few metric scales 
on the illustrations, and some references in the text where the metric 
were evidently subordinate to the old measures. 

CURRENT DISCUSSION". 

The discussion of the metric question continues brisk. Col. Sedg- 
wick's decimal system, mentioned above as opposed to the metric, was 
presented to the American Society of Civil Engineers, xMay ID, 1880. 
Col. W. Milnor Koberts, past president of that society, now in the 
employ of the Brazilian government, writes in " Journal of the Frank- 
lin Institute," for November, 1880 (pages 24, 25), a letter in which he 
speaks of the recent introduction of the metric system into Brazil, and 
of its probable ultimate adoption by the United States. During the 
last year the American Metrological Society has published, in two vol- 
umes, its proceedings from December, 1873, to December, 1879. The 
Ohio Auxiliary Society of the International Institute has also pub- 
lished its proceedings from December, 1879, through July, 1880. 

The Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania took up the sub- 
ject at several meetings. Mr. William Kent opened the discussion 
with an instructive p.qjer, March 16, 1880, which he seemed to think 
himself might be criticised as " straddling " the question; he humor- 
ously compared himself to Ensign Stebbins, who was ''in favor of the 
law, but agin its enforcement." Ijieut. F. A. Mahan read a paper 
May 18, 1880, explaining simply what the system is, and forcibly' pre- 
senting the leading arguments in favor of its adoption. Mr. James 
Park is quoted as saying that he did n't know anything about it, and 
did n't want to know anything about it. A brief notice of the debate 
is given in "Engineering N'ews"of May 22, 1880. The written 
papers were prmted in the society's transactions. Lieut. Mahan's 
paper was also published in the '' American Manufacturer" of June 
il and 18,1880. 

Mr. Greeley's remarks at the May meeting of the Civil Engineers' 
Club of the Northwest constitute a simple and brief presentation of 
the argument in favor of his resolution already quoted; they were 



119 

published in the "American Engineer " for June, 1880, and contained 
the following reply to an objection: — 

" Mr. Coleman Sellers, whose opinion is entitled to respect, thinks 
the cost will be very great in machine shops and factories, and esti- 
mates it for a machine shop employing 150 men at something like 
$150,000. But in this he includes the entire change or rehioval of all 
patterns, taps, dies, thread-cutters, and measuring apparatus of all 
sorts. Other gentlemen as competent to judge, and in charge of large 
works, think this wholly unnecessary, and believe that simple and 
convenient expressions will be found in metric terms for values which 
we now express in inches and fractions down to thirty-seconds with- 
out any change in the dimensions of the thing itself. It will not be 
necessary to change the width of a railroad track. The value of 4 
feet 8^ inches is 1.435 m. The metric expression takes fewer figures 
and symbols. It will be known then, as now, as the ' common gauge.' 
No doubt the tendency would be towards dimensions expressed in even 
figures, but the change would be gradual, and attended with little 
cost." 

At the first annual meeting of the American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers, Mr. Coleman Sellers read a paper entitled "•' The Metric 
System: Is it wise to introduce it into our Machine Shops?" It was 
published in the " Journal of the Franklin Institute," November, 1880; 
in the "Railroad Gazette," Nov. 26,1880; in "Engineering News," 
Nov. 20 and 27; in the ''American Architect and Building News" of 
same dates; imperfectly in the " Iron Age "of Nov. 11; and very likely 
in other places to your committee unknown. The interesting character 
of the paper, as well as its author's reputation, entitles it to this wide 
circulation, which enables all who are interested to read and judge it 
for themselves. That Mr. Sellers has written this paper four years 
after the adoption of the Franklin Institute lleport of 1876, is an en- 
couraging item of progress, and excites curiosity as to what he will 
say in 1884. It maybe remembered that in obedience to your vote of 
Nov. 17, 1875, your committee sent to the Franklin Institute, among 
other bodies, a letter saying, "That the numerous and ver}^ great 
obstacles in the way of this reform can be surmounted by conducting 
it in a deliberate and judicious way is proved by the history of the 
recent adoption of the metric system in Germany"; which it then 
proceeded to sketch very briefly, closing with a suggestion that that 
example had better be followed in this country. As it happened, 
France was not named in the letter. The reply received from the 
Franklin Institute in November, 1876, was accompanied by a copy of 
the report of a majority of their committee, to whom the letter had 
been referred, bearing, as the names of its signers, first, Coleman 
Sellers, second, W. P. Tathara, Chairman. That report was chiefly 
made up of fragments of French history, with brief allusioLS to irreli- 
gion, paternal government, the revolutionaiy calendar, etc. Most of 
its facts are to be found in John Quincy Adams's report, made in 1821, 



120 

and it contained but little to show that its authors had learned of any- 
thing that occurred subsequently to that date, and certainly not the 
remotest allusion to Germany from beginning to end. In 1880, Mr. 
Sellers lakes the trouble to say, with his compliments, that it was Mr. 
Tatham that wrote that report, and a prominent topic of his paper is 
the adoptionr of the metric system in the machine shops of Germany, 
upon which he dilates as fully as if the subject had the charm of nov- 
elty. He brings out in a strong light the fact that the complete adop- 
tion of the metric system means changing old standard sizes, and states 
what standard sizes are used in Germany for scales of drawings, for bar 
iron, for shafting, and for twist drills. His opinion is, that in point 
of convenience, these contrast unfavorably with the corresponding 
series now in use in the United States, though in another part of his 
paper he makes the general remark that some happy coincidences are 
found in the use of the metric system, as well as of the old weights and 
measures. What he dwells upon most, introduces several times, and 
gives comparative tables for, is the system of screw threads for bolts 
and nuts. The Whitworth system, based on the English inch, being 
in use in Germany, it was found impracticable to change it; so they 
adhere to it still, but have slightly altered the nomenclature, which 
Mr. Sellers condemns in these words: — 

" Having given up the inch, the Germans formulate their threads 
per diameter." " For the names of the bolts they must either retain 
their English names, and call a 25.4 mm. bolt one inch, or they must 
call it what it is, 25.4 mm.; but some call it 25 mm. and make it .4 mm. 
larger. This inch bolt has 8 threads per inch, and as the diameter, 
too, is 1 inch, it can be said to have 8 threads per diameter. A 1)^ 
inch bolt measures 28.6 mm.; it may be called 29 mm. size; it must 
be cut out of 29 mm. iron, the nearest merchant size, with a loss of ^^ 
of a millimeter. This loss does not seem much, but the dies which 
have to cut it off tell the story very soon. The Whitworth scale gives the 
same pitch to 1^ and 1^ screws, viz., 7 per inch. The exclusive metric 
shops call the one 7^ threads per diameter, and the other 8f , and yet 
they are practically the same, and must be cut with the same combina- 
tion of change wheels on the lathe. Here is a precious example of what 
comes from trying to harmonize two systems under one nomenclature. 
The screw system in general use is so good, it has been so long in use, 
its disturbance would shock so many interests, that it is unwise to give 
it up," etc. 

That it would be feasible to give it up if there were good reasons for 
doing so, appears from a paper,* read by Mr. Coleman Sellers in 1874, 
in which the folio wing passage occurs : — 

* The Metric System in our Workshops: Will its Value in Practice be an 
Equivalent for the Cost of Introduction? Kead at the Chicago meeting of the 
American Railway Master Mechanics' Association, May, 1874, and published in 
the Journal of the Franklin Institute, June, 1874, and in the Railroad Gazette, 
Sept. 5, 1874. 



I 



121 

" I have said business men count the cost before makins: chanires in 
matters of habit or use; but when they can be shown that they will be 
gainers by the change, they give in to it heartily. This same example 
of screw threads will serve as an illustration. Mr. Whitworth's sys- 
tem of screw threads was already introduced in all the principal 
workshops of Europe, and in many in this country. But a better 
system was presented to the Franklin Institute, a system based on 
such simple laws, that, given the formula with no existing original to 
copy, any careful workman can originate a given thread that will 
match those in use. After an exhaustive debate on the subject of its 
introduction by the various departments of our government, and a 
careful consideration on the part of our mechanical associations, it 
came to be adopted as the United States standard. It was adopted at 
considerable expense, because it was believed to be an improvement 
on existing practice. We have still to keep up our old taps and dies 
for repair work; but no mechanic has deemed the expenditure in- 
volved in the change other than judicious." , 

It was Mr. William Sellers who presented to the Franklin Institute 
this " better system." He was present by invitation at the meeting 
of the master car builders, in ^ew York City, in December, 1879, 
when the subject of screw threads was considered, and it appeared 
that frequently bolts and nuts purporting to be of the Sellers stand- 
ard were not interchangeable. Mr. Wm. Sellers said, among other 
thinij;s, " It seems to me that the trouble does not lie with the system 
of screw threads; no difficulty seems to exist there. The difficulty is 
the original one of what is an inch," etc. This is quoted from a 
tolerably full report in the "Railroad Gazette " of Jan. 2 1880. For 
information on this subject published during the past year, reference 
may also be made to a long editorial article in the " Railroad Gazette " 
of Jan. 9, 1S80, and to the discussion in the meeting of the American 
Society of Mechanical Engineers, Nov. 5, 1880, reported in the "Iron 
Age " of Nov. 11, and to brief letters in " Engineering" of July 16 
and 23. 

Respectfully submitted, 

FRED. BROOKS, 

L. FREDERICK RICE, 

CLARENCE W. LUNT, 

Committee. 
Feb. 15, 1881. 



1 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



Note. — This Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinions advanced in any of its publications. 



(RECOKD OF ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1881.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Boston, March 16, 1881. 

The annual meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Yice-President Edward S. Philbrick in the chair? 
and twenty members present (Austin, Blodgett, Bowditch, Brooks, 
Carr, Carson, Curtis, T. W. Davis, Folsom, F. F. Forbes, Freeman, 
French, Fuller, Howe, Howland, Kettell, L. F. Rice, Tinkham, 
Whittaker, Wightraan). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The annual reports of the government and the treasurer were read 
and accepted. 

It was voted to continue for the ensuing year the prize offered at 
the September meeting, for the best paper read before the Society. 

An assessment of $5.00 was ordered to be levied on active members, 
and $150 was appropriated for printing the records of the meetings for 
the year, or until such time as the Association of Engineering Societies 
shall begin the joint publication of proceedings. 

The Society then proceeded to the election of officers for the 
ensuing year, and the following were declared elected: — 

President, Thomas Doane. 
Vice-President, Edtvakd S. Philbrick. 
Secretary, S. Everett Tinkham. 
Trmsurer, Henry Manley. 
Librarian, Frederick Brooks. 

Mr. William H. Bradley, by vote, was appointed auditor. 

The special committees of the Society were continued, as constituted 
for the past year, and the following vole passed: Voted, That the 
Committee on the Metric System shall gather from time to time, and 
present to the Society all attainable information relative to the intro- 
duction of the metric S3^stem into this country and the world at large. 

Mr. Franklin M. Miner was proposed for membership by Messrs. 
T. W. Davis and S. E. Tinkham. 

Mr. E. W. Howe read a paper describing the Back Bay Park. 

[Adjourned.'] 

S. E. TINKHAM, Secretary. 



124 



Annual Report of the Government of the Boston Society 

OF CiYiL Engineers. 

The past year has not been distinguished by any important events 
connected with the interests of the Society. 

Ten regular meetings have been held, with an average attendance 
of seventeen members. 

The list of membership has been increased by the addition of six 
new names as active members, and diminished by the loss of five. Two 
of these were removed by death, viz., Osgood Hodges and Ephraim 
'N. Winslow; and three have beeu dropped for non-payment of dues. 
The total number is now ninety-five, of which eighty-five are active 
members, two are corresponding, and eight are honorary members 
Eleven absent members have availed themselves of the privilege of 
keeping their names on the list by the payment of an annual fee of S2.00 
as provided for in the Constitution. 

The policy of printing the proceedings of the Society has been fully 
justified during the past year, several instructive papers having been 
presented and published. 

Attention is called to the prize of $15, which was offered for the 
best paper read before the Society, as an incentive to the preparation 
of such papers, and we recommend the renewal of this ofier for the 
coming year. 

While earnestly desiring the production of such literary efforts as 
may be worthy of this prize, we would also urge that much useful in- 
formation may be interchanged by short, informal descriptions of 
work upon which each member may be engaged, by means of which 
all the^others may be eaabled to profit by his experience. The subjects 
may at first seem trivial or trite. But our profession is peculiar in this 
respect, that its practice rarely repeats itself exactly. Every work is 
likely to be surrounded by some peculiar conditions, requiring a spe- 
cial adaptation of the treatment, at least in details. Moreover, new 
methods and facilities are continually being presented, for trial' and 
actual proof, the record of which is always of general interest. 

The removal of our former secretary, Geo. S. Rice, and of our former 
president, Jos. P. Davis, was followed by their resignations, and the 
choice of S. E. Tinkham as secretary, and Thos. Doane as president. 

On the 19th of January last, an important step was taken by the 
Society in voting to join the " Association of Engineering Societies," 
for the purpose of a joint publication of their proceedings. It is hoped 
that great mutual advantage may accrue from this arrangement 
should it be perfected. 

Attention is called to the fact that the library of the Society is now 



125 

available for general use by its members, by a circulation of its books- 
also, the current periodicals to which the Society subscribes are now 
exposed upon the table at each meeting. This library can never be 
expected to rival, for general purposes of research, the magnificent 
collection of the city and of Harvard College, which are accessible to 
most of our members; but it may have a more humble field of use- 
fulness in its own specialty, by collecting local information, such as 
may never reach those large collections. We urge in this connection 
the contribution of all reports concerning the execution or adniinistra- 
tion of works in charge of any of our members, or of local governments 
and corporations in this neighborhood. 

The library has been increased during the past year by the usual 
periodicals for the term, and by the following, among other contribu- 
tions, viz.: — 

The Report of the Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. 

The Report of the Coast Survey. 

American Sanitary Engineering, by E. S. Philbrick. 

Testimony at the Coroner's Inquest of the St. Charles Bridge Dis- 
aster, b}' S. H. Yonge. 

Proceedings of the Roadmasters' Meeting of the Atlantic and Great 
Western Railway. 

Papers on Water Supply, by Prof. W. R. N"ichols. 

Sanitary Condition of School-Houses, by Prof. W. R. Nichols. 

A Comparative Yiew of the Panama and the San Bias Routes for an 
Interoceanic Canal, by Sidney F. Shelbourne. 

The librarian suggests that *'It is believed that a considerable 
increase might be made to our library, by soliciting on loan books 
which members may be desirous of retaining as private property, while 
willing to part with temporarily; a few books are already held in this 
way." The librarian reports that under the new rules, regulating the 
loaning of books, no fines have j'^et been incurred. 

The treasurer's report, hereto annexed, shows a healthy condition 
of his department. The balance on hand is somewhat diminished, as 
compared with last year, by the paj'ment of a premium of over $200 
upon the reinvestm-ent of the proceeds of the United States bond 
which had matured. 

We recommend the assessment of $5.00 upon each member for the 
following year. 

For the Government^ 

Edav. S. Philbrick. 
S. Everett Tinkham. 
Henry Manley. 
Fred. Brooks. 

BosTO^f, March 16, ISSl. 



126 



Abstract of Treasurer'' s Beportfor Year ending March 10, 1881. 

RECEIPTS. 

Balance on hand at commencement of year .... $315 44 

Entrance fees ' 60 00 

Assessment for current year, 68 members at S5.00, $340 00 
Non-resident dues for current year, 10 members, 20 00 



360 00 

Assessments of past years 38 00 

Kon-resident dues for coming year, 8 members . . . 16 00 

Interest on United States bond 50 00 

Interest on current balance 10 86 



$850 30 



DISBURSEMENTS. 

Eent $50 00 

Printing 172 11 

Binding 12 00 

Stamps and stationery 23 64 

Corporation seal 7 00 

Periodicals 41 65 

Balance on account of reinvestment of funds . . . 274 00 , 

Cash 269 90 



$850 30 



INVESTMENTS. 



The $1,000 5 per cent United States bond belonging to the Society 
has been sold, and two Burlinu;ton and Missouri River Railroad 6 per 
cent non-exempt bonds of $000 each have been bought. 



Henry Manley, Treasurer. 



The Back Bay Park, Boston. 

A paper by E. W. Howe. Read March 16, 1881. 

You were informed upon the notices of this meeting that there was 
to be read a paper describing the Back Bay Park. The name given 
to this improvement is, I think, an unfortunate one, though perhaps 
no better could be suggested; but the title of" park " arouses in the cit- 
izen unfamiliar with the locality and its surroundings an expectation 
which I fear he will fall, far short of realizing, and already we have heard 
condemnations, loud and severe, of the city authorities for choosing such 
a low-lying, level, foul mud-hole as this, for the location of a public 
park. 



127 

This is not surprising; for after seven or eight years of agitation of 
the park question, of the appointment of and reports by commissions 
and committees, of public hearings, of pubhc meetings of citizens, of 
petitions to the Legislature, of Acts passed by the latter and submitted 
to the people for their approval, of costly surveys, plans, and estimates 
for a grand system of parks extending all around the outskirts of the 
city, — after all this, what do the people who have been expecting such 
great things see as the result? The purchase of one hundred and six 
acres of the filthiest marsh and mud flats to be found anywhere in 
Massachusetts, without a single attractive feature or anything to make 
it of except space; a body of water so foul that even clams and eels 
cannot live in it, and that no ane will go within half a mile of in sum- 
mer time unless from necessity, so great is the stench arising therefrom. 
This is called " The Back Bay Park," more than twice as large as our 
grand old Boston Common; and the average citizen naturally con- 
cludes that its attractiveness will be in the same proportion. This 
expectation, I fear, is destined to be disappointed. 

But tor all this, I think the proposed improvement of this territory 
a wise step, the mistake being in not making the sanitary necessity of 
the improvement the main question, and the park feature of the plan 
subordinate to it. 

In order to understand the work which is contemplated upon the 
park, and the reasons therefor, it will be necessary to go back a short 
time in the history of the territory known as the Back Bay. The 
district bounded by Beacon Street, West Chester Park, Parker Street, 
Longwood Avenue, and Brookline Avenue, contained, before work 
was commenced, about one hundred and sixty acres of flats and one 
hundred and forty acres of marsh. The one hundred and sixty acres 
of flats make what is commonly known as " The Full Basin," as 
distinguished from " The Empty Basin," which was east of Parker 
Street; names derived from the use of the water in former times as a 
source of power. The surface of the flats is at a grade varying from 
two to seven feet above city base, except at a few points where strong 
currents have made the bottom somewhat lower. Near the southerly 
end of this area, two streams unite: Muddy River, coming from the 
southwest, having a drainage area of about 3,700 acres, and compris- 
ing the larger part of Brookline, with portions of Roxbury, AYest 
Roxbury, and Brighton; and Stony Brook, coming from the southeast, 
having a drainage area of about 7,800 acres, and comprising nearly all 
of West Roxbury, with portions of Roxbury, Brookline, Dorchester, 
and Hyde Park. 

These streams have until within a few years received the discharge 
from w^hatever sewers there have been within the territory drained by 
them. The sewage has been carried down by the streams until it 
reached tide-water in this large basin of one hundred and sixty 



128 

acres, where there was very little current; this body of water thus 
formed a settling basin for the sewage, and everything that would 
settle was deposited upon the surface of these flats, to be exposed to 
the air for twelve hours out of every twenty-four. Of course this 
caused a nuisance, which has been continually growing worse; and for 
the past six years, at least, there have been loud calls for its abate- 
meftt. The necessity of some action was apparent enough; but what 
steps should be taken, it was not so easy to see. The sewage has been 
partially diverted, and will probably be entirely so within the next 
year or two, but there will still remain the natural discharge of the 
two streams which must be provided for, while the present filthy 
condition of the Full Basin will continue until something is done to 
cleanse it. 

The first suggestion, perhaps, would be to fill the whole territory 
and occupy it for building purposes. There are several objections to 
this method of abating the nuisance: First, there would still be the 
two streams to provide for. A channel for Stony Brook would hare 
to be built to Charles River, which would cost, for a conduit large 
enough to carry the freshet flow of the brook, from $250,000 to S300,000. 
Muddy River will be entirely diverted under the proposed plan, so 
that we need not consider the cost of that. Second^ how could the 
filling be carried out ? Should the city wait until the owners of the 
land shall see fit to do it? It would probably be many years before 
they would move in the matter; as without some special attraction, 
such as a park, in that vicinity, there would be no market for land until 
tliat nearer the city is occupied. It would then be necessary for the 
city to fill the land at its own expense and hold it as security for the 
payment of the cost, in some such way as the Suffolk Street, Northamp- 
ton Street, and other districts have been filled. This would involve 
the city in a large real-estate speculation, the financial success of which 
would be exceedingly doubtful, especially as the land-owners would be 
likely to claim that the city, by discharging its sewage into the streams, 
had been the cause of the nuisance, and so was liable for the cost of 
its abatement. Third, we have heard a great deal said during the last 
few years about *' breathing-places." The commission appointed in 
1874, to consider the subject of Public Parks, in their report say, " In 
the territory bounded by a line drawn from the northerly end of Arling- 
ton Street, on Charles River, to Dover Street Bridge, on the South 
Bay; thence by a line southwesterly through Albany Street to Dud- 
ley Street, in what was formerly Roxbury; thence by a line running 
northerly through Longwood Avenue to the Cottage Farm Station, on 
the Boston and Albany Railroad; and thence by the south bank of 
Charles River, to the point of beginning, — there are, according to the 
estimate of Mr. Davis, the City Surveyor, about 1,700 acres of land and 
water." The report, after giving the population per acre of the occu- 



129 

pied portion of this territory, and the rate of increase for the past fifty 
years, says, " At this rate these 1,700 acres will he entirely occupied 
in less than twenty years. More than 150,000 people will then he liv- 
ing between Arlington Street and Parker Hill." This whole area is 
substantially at a uniform grade of twelve feat above city base, except 
the streets which are about eighteen feet above city base. After giv- 
ing some statistics of the death-rate, etc., in the crowded portions of 
the city, the report says, " Can we not foresee, too, what that population 
will need in the way of breathing-spaces, and at what cost that popula- 
tion will have to provide them if we neglect our plain duty? " and in 
conclusion it recommends " that in view of the present grade and of 
the class of buildings that may be erected there, a park be laid out in 
some part of the territory between Arlington Street and Parker Hill." 
This report was before the establishing of the Board of Park Commis- 
sioners, and did not mention any particular locality for a park. IL is 
quoted to show that there was a feeling that some portion of this area 
should remain open. The same recommendation has been made many 
times during the past twenty-five years, by nearly all of those who have 
been connected with Back Bay and South End improvements, and 
there have been many plans of proposed parks within this territory. 
The earlier ones were to be located farther toward the east than the 
present one, and so more central; but the land, then unimproved, has 
since been tilled and streets built across it, and a large part covered 
with buildings; so that there onl}- remains this portion before described, 
and if there is to be any breathing-space at all, it must be located 
between Parker Street and Brookline Avenue. 

The situation then was briefly this: Here was a large territory, the 

greater part of which ought not for sanitary reasons to be built upon, 

having within its limits a great nuisance which must be abated; and 

^ihe city being the cause of that nuisance, the expense should be paid 

by the city. 

The land purchased is at the junction of the two streams before 
mentioned, being part marsh and part flats. It may be that the 
land could have been so selected that the improvement could have been 
made at a less cost; but it seems to me that in no portion of the terri- 
tory could one hundred acres have been taken which would not have 
made it necessary to provide for the flow of the two streams, Muddy 
Elver and Stony Brook. The greatest difficulty to be met was the dis- 
charge of Stony Brook. The expense of extending the channel of this 
brook to Charles River, of such size as to carry the full flow at all times, 
would be very great; so great that it was not thought best to undertake 
it. At the same time, it would not do to allow the brook to flow through 
the park without providing some means b}' which, while there was a 
sufficient area of water for the freshet flow to spread itself over with- 
out rising so high as to destroy the banks, at the same time there 



130 

should be means of admitting water during the dry season to prevent 
stagnation. Of course this water would have to be salt water taken 
from the river. But as is well known, the discharge of fresh water into 
salt water causes the deposition of a filthy slime, which could not be 
tolerated in a place of this character. So it was decided to make the 
water basin in the p^rk a salt-water basin, and not admit fresh water 
into it at all, except as will be described hereafter. 

Muddy River is to be taken to Charles Eiver through an independent 
conduit large enough to carry its entire flow. The flow of this stream 
is small as compared with St ony Brook, so that it will not be so costly 
to deal with it in this way, while it was found impracticable to deal 
with the flow of both streams united in the manner proposed for Stony 
Brook. 

The common flow of Stony Brook is so small that it could be carried 
by a small conduit, were it not for the freshet flow. Therefore this 
plan was adopted: It was first ascertained what area would be needed 
for the storage of the flow of the brook so that it should not rise more 
than one or two feet in time of freshet, while the outlet was tide- 
locked. This was found to be about flfty acres; but fifty acres is quite 
a large proportion of the park, and would leave very little after building 
the necessary drives, etc. Therefore the ordinary area of the lake was 
reduced to thirty acres with its surface at grade 8 feet above city 
base, while an area of twenty acres is to be left at a grade of about 
8.5 feet above city base. It is proposed to hold the water in the pond 
as high as grade 8 at all times, and in time of freshet it will rise 
from one to two feet, thus covering the twenty acres of low land, mak- 
ing a lake of fifty acres in area. It is intended to leave the twenty 
acres of low land as marsh, admitting salt water occasionally to over- 
flow it. The lake is to be a salt-water basin except at rare intervals, 
principally in the early spring or whenever the flow of Stony Brook is 
greater than the conduit can carry, when the excess will be discharged 
into the pond. 

The water of the lake and brook will be controlled by the covered 
conduit, the Stony Brook gate chamber, and the Charles River gate 
chamber. The latter will not be built at present, as it is not deter- 
mined what will be done with the flats between Beacon Street and the 
harbor line. A temporary dam is, however, being built across the out- 
let of the park lake under Beacon Street, which will control the height 
of the lake. This dam is to have a height of 6.5 feet above city base, 
with gates above it hung from a floor at the grade of the street; these 
gates will shut against the dam on the lower side, but will swing freely 
towards the river so that the tide will be shut out, while any water 
which may accumulate in the lake above the grade of the top of the 
dam will be discharged at low water. As was stated, the top of the 
dam is to be at grade 6.5; but there will be flash-boards on the top of 



1 



131 

the dam and behind the gates to about grade 8, so that the surface 
of the lake can be held to that grade, while in time of freshet the flash- 
boards can be removed, thus allowing a greater flow. The dam is 
provided with stop-planks, so that the lake can be entirely emptied if 
desired. 

The Stony Brook gate chamber is located on the easterly side of the 
park, opposite the present outlet of the brook. The present double 
conduit is to be extended to and through this gate chamber to the 
lake, of substantially its present shape, i. e., a double arch, each chan- 
nel ten feet in width. At the outlet into the lake there is to be a 
system of gates opening towards the lake; these gates are of the form 
of double doors, swinging on bearings at the sides of the openings, two 
pairs of gates being placed in each opening, so that there may be no 
failure to act if one pair should be out of order. On each side of each 
pair of gates, grooves are cut in the masonry for stop-planks, so that 
either opening may be closed for repairs. Back of the gates a con- 
duit to Charles Eiver leaves the gate chamber. This conduit is cir- 
cular in form, of a diameter of seven feet two inches inside. It is built 
of 2 X 8 inch spruce plank, laid lengthwise of the conduit, with 
the width of the plank in the direction of the radius of the conduit 
section; every fourth plank is triangular in section, so as to give the 
proper curve. The planks are thoroughly treenailed and spiked to 
each other, thus forming a solid ring of wood, eight inches thick ; this is 
supported in very soft ground by piles, but in hard ground the bottom 
of the trench is formed to the right curve, and the plank laid directly 
on the bottom without other support. This manner of building a 
conduit or sewer was devised by Mr. H. A. Carson, and has been 
employed by him with good results in building in newly filled ground, 
which was liable to settle after the work was completed. The con- 
duit is made with a diameter two inches greater than was at first 
intended, so that it can be lined with a coating of cement if deemed 
desirable. At its connection with the gate chamber there is a set of 
gates of the same general design as those opening into the lake, 
though of course smaller. These gates open towards the conduit, and 
so allow the water of the brook to flow through them to Charles Biver, 
but shut out any flow in the opposite direction. 

By means of these structures, the water of Stony Brook will flow 
through the gate chamber and the conduit to Charles Eiver except 
at high tide, when the gates from the chamber into the conduit will 
close and the water will rise in the brook; and, if the flow is large 
enough, when it rises above the grade of the surface of the lake the 
gates to the latter will open, and the brook will discharge through 
them, until the tide falls sufficiently to allow the brook to again dis- 
charge through the small conduit, when the gates to the latter will 
open and those opening into the lake will close. The water which 



132 

has thus accumulated in the lake will be discharged over the dam at 
the outlet near Beacon Street, before described, the amount of water, 
and the lime required for it to fall to the normal grade of the surface 
of the lake, varying with the flow of Stony Brook; but the structures 
are so proportioned that the whole amount of water that can be 
delivered at the gate chamber by Stony Brook in any one tide can be 
discharged by the small conduit and the outlet dam, before the suc- 
ceeding tide rises to grade 8. 

It will be seen that the whole apparatus is self-acting, except in very- 
heavy freshets, when it will be necessary to remove the flash-boards 
from the top of the outlet dam. 

At the Stony Brook gate chamber, in addition to the gates before 
described, there is to be a sliding gate and a slui-ceway connecting tlie 
small conduit, just below the gates from the gate chamber, with the 
park lake; by this means salt water can be admitted at high tide from 
Charles Biver to the lake, to cover the twenty acres of marsli or to 
renew the water of the lake. There will also be an inlet of the same 
description as this last described at the Longwood entrance, for admit- 
ting salt-water through the conduit for Muddy River. 

In addition to the structures for controlling the flow of water, there 
will be several others of more or less importance upon the park. 

The first, beginning at the outlet, will be a gate chamber between 
Beacon Street and Charles River; this will probably have a masonry 
dam with gates above it, as in the temporary dam before described, 
and instead of flashboards on the top of the dam it will probably have 
sliding gates in another opening, which can be raised when the flow 
is greater than can be discharged over the dam. 

'Next above will be the Beacon Street bridge over the waterway. 
This bridge is now being built but has no unusual features, being of 
short span and rectangular in plan. It will span two openings of 
twenty feet each, and have a width of seventy feet. 

The next is the bridge on Commonwealth Avenue, of one span of 
fifty feet, the street being ninety feet wide, and making an angle with 
the abutments of about seventy degrees. 

Next above the latter will be a bridge on the Boston and Albarty 
Railroad. This is divided into three openings of seventeen feet each, 
on account of lack of depth for longer spans. These three bridges 
will be deck bridges, spanning the waterway, the foundations being 
pile and timber platforms extending across the waterwa}^, and abut- 
ments and piers of ashlar masonry. 

There will also be a driveway bridge over the railroad of about 
sixty-two feet span. This will also be a deck bridge with cut stone 
abutments. 

The most important bridge will be that on the extension of Boyl- 
ston Street, over the waterway. This will be an elliptical arch of 



133 

sixty feet span, at a riQ;ht angle to the abutments and eighteen feet 
rise above the surface of the water. The bridge will be one hundred 
and eleven feet wide at the easterly abutment and one hundred and 
forty-one feet wide at the westerly abutment, the arch being straight 
at one end and askew at the other; the span at the skew end on the 
face of the arch is sixty-seven feet. The abutments, spaindrel walls, 
and faces of the arch are to be of granite; the remainder of the ma- 
sonry will be of brick. 

There are to be two bridges of small span over the waterway, one 
on the cross drive about midway of the park, and the other at the 
Longwood entrance; also a passageway under the driveway at Hun- 
tington entrance, leading to a boat lauding. 

There are to be six boat landings, which will require masonry 
foundations. 

These complete the engineering structures; the remainder of the 
work, except the planting of trees, shrubs, etc., and the work upon the 
drives and walks, will consist of excavation and filling to form the 
outlines of the lake. 

It is not intended to have any wall or curbing around the lake, but 
simply a sloping bank covered with gravel. The bottom of the lake 
will be at grade 0, thus giving a depth of water at all times of eight 
feet. 

The plan of the park was designed by Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, 
landscape architect, of 'New York, with the advice of Mr. Joseph P. 
Davis, formerly City Engineer; while the plans for the various struc- 
tures have been made and the work of construction done under the 
direction of the present City Engineer, Mr. Henry M. Wightmau. 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



Note. — This Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinions advanced in any of its publications. 



(EECOED OF KEGULAR MEETING, APRIL, 1881.) 

Wesleyan- Hall, Boston, April 20, 1881. 

A regular meeting of the Eoston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, President Thomas Doane in the chair, and fifteen 
members present (Brooks, Cheney, Cunningham, Folsom, Fuller, 
Howe, Howland, Learned, Manley, McClintock, Mitchell, L. F. Rice, 
Sampson, Tinkham, Whitwell). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

The secretary read the minutes of a meeting of the government, 
at which it was voted to fix the price of the printed proceedings of 
the Society at two cents per printed page to non-members and 
members desiring additional copies. 

Mr. Franklin M. Miner was elected a member of the Society, and 
Mr. David H. Andrews was proposed for membership by Messrs. 
J. E. Cheney and S. F.. Tinkham. 

The Committee on Uniformity in Datum Planes presented the fol- 
lowing report, which was accepted and ordered to be printed: — 

Report of Committee on Uniformity in Datum Planes. 

To the Boston Society of Civil Engineers : 

The committee to whom was referred the subject of uniformity in 
datum planes for levels would respectfully make the following 

REPORT. 

It appears to have been the custom of cities and towns, and also of 
engineers engaged on public works, to adopt, without any regard to 
uniformity, some arbitrary datum plane or base to which all levels 
and heights are referred. Cities and towns located on the seaboard 



136 

have usually adopted for this plane of reference, so far as the com- 
mittee have been able to ascertain, either mean high or mean low 
water, there having been no uniformity of method, however, some 
adopting one and some the other, according to the caprice of the 
engineer at the time the datum plane was established. In some 
cities two systems even have been adopted and are still used. 

The base established by the engineers at the time of the construction 
of the Boston Water Works (and still used, we understand) was "tide 
marsh level," or mean high water ; but the one subsequently adopted by 
the first City Engineer, Mr. Chesbrough, for general city purposes (and 
it is the base used at the present time), was, or rather was intended to 
be, mean low water. Also, in other cities, the committee understand 
that different planes of reference for levels have been and are still 
used by different departments or corporations. This double system 
of levels in the same locality is very objectionable, and is likely to 
cause confusion and may sometimes lead to serious errors. 

The committee take this opportunity to protest against any repeti- 
tion of such a double system where, in the first instance, it can easily 
be avoided. 

The committee do not hesitate to say that, theoretically, some uni- 
form plane of reference for levels would be of great advantage as a 
means of comparison in different localities; and if such uniformity 
were to be generally adopted, it appears to them that the mean level of 
the sea would be the most feasible one that could be used for that 
purpose. Although the mean level of the sea would be the most con- 
venient, if not the only one, that it would be practicable to adopt for 
a uniform plane of reference, still there are other reasons why mean 
low water, or extreme low water, or even a lower plane than either, 
would be found to be preferable in cities and towns located on the sea- 
coast, as it is always desirable to have the base or datum line low 
enough to avoid the use of minus figures. 

In conclusion, the committee would say that after taking the whole 
subject into consideration, they believe there is no better way of 
reaching the end, acknowledged by all to be much desired, of uniform- 
ity in datum planes for levels, than by the adoption of the meayi level 
of the sea for that plane It will be accompanied by the inconvenience 
of minus heights, but they believe the mean level of the sea to be the 
only plane susceptible of being absolutely fixed, and that the uniform- 
ity and fixedness will, on the whole, overbalance the inconvenience. 

THOMAS DOA:NrE, \ 

THOS. W. DAVIS, V Committee. 

JOSEPH H. CUKTIS,» 

Boston, April 20, 1881. 



187 

The president invited Mr. Mitchell, whom he observed to he 
present, to express his views, and he responded as follows: — 

Mr. Henry Mitchell. — He fully concurred in the opinion of 
the committee that the mean level of the sea is the proper datum 
plane. It is subject to less variation than any other water reference ; 
it is independent of the range of the tide, and essentially so of all the 
movements of the sun and moon, except declination. In our North 
Atlantic, it is only the declination of the moon that affects the mean 
level of the sea in any considerable degree, and this amounts to onl}' 
three inches at Boston. It has been determined, from the long series 
of observations made by the Coast Survey at the Dry Dock, that with 
the increase of the moon's declination, whether north or south, the 
mean level rises. In the Gulf of Mexico, the reverse rule is found to 
apply, with a maximum change of over six inches. 

The unequal pressures of the atmosphere upon different parts of 
the ocean give rise to changes of mean level ; and although it could 
hardly be expected that the local barometer would be any criterion 
for this change, it has been pretty well determined that a fall of one 
inch in the mercurial barometer at Brest is attended by a rise of the 
mean level of the sea of some sixteen inches; at Liverpool, about ten; 
and at London, seventeen. On our own coast the change is very 
small. 

The mean level rises as we go up a tidal river, precisely as if this 
river were tideless; but it does not change as we go through arms of 
the sea or into bays and lagoons. Different tidal systems have the 
same mean level, as ascertained at the two extremities of the proposed 
Cape Cod Canal and on either side of the isthmus separating the Bay 
of Fundy from the St. Lawrence, or that separating the Atlantic from 
the Pacific. 

While a series of observations extending over a half-year is neces- 
sary to determine the elevation of mean high or mean low tide, 
observations every fifteen minutes for a single calm day at time of 
mean declination of the moon have been found to give mean level on 
our coast ; and one may feel entire confidence in the average from 
such very frequent observations, continued from zero to maximum 
declination of the moon in the stormless month of July. As before 
said, the sun's declination may be safely neglected. 

It would be a good custom to inscribe upon all public buildings 
some definite elevations above the datum, providing in this way 
numerous bench marks. 

Mr. Mitchell said, in reply to inquiry from the president, that he 
knew of no public work in the country referred to the mean level of 
the sea, high or low tide being the usual reference, and that he re- 
garded the action of the committee in this matter as a step forward. 



138 

Mr. A. H. HowLAiSTD called attention to certain extra strains in 
the portal bracing of bridges which are not usually provided for, 
promising at some later date to write out a more complete account. 

Mr. C. W. FoLSOM gave some account of the methods used in lay- 
ing out the city of Lawrence, Mass. This was designed to be an 
example of the best mode of measurement of valuable land (worth 
from $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot at the first sales). The plan 
adopted for the city (being composed of several rectangles not par- 
allel) was to measure a circumscribing rectangle for each portion, with 
three 20-foot wooden rods, with microscopic accuracy on lines of level, 
plumbing down at any change of level ; the poles being supported on 
blocks at the ends. From 200 to 1,000 feet a day only was measured. 

Chestnut posts 6 feet long, with a 3-foot " T " at bottom, were put 
in at each street corner on the circumscribing rectangles, and packed 
with stones; the intermediate street corners (of the same form) being 
put in by cross alignment. 

The error in closing the traverses (averaging say 5,000 feet each) 
varied from ^ inch to 2| inches. The measurements were assumed as 
strictly accurate, and the right angles were made to conform to the 
measurements. 

This work was compared with the results given in the account of 
the " Surveying of the ISTew Wards in New York City," in the Engi- 
neering jSfews for February and March, 1881, where the margin of 
error allowed was considerably greater ; also with some of the first 
surveys (some years ago) for the newer parts of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
where the measurements were made with steel tapes on an inclined 
plane built up from the surface of the ground, the slope of which was 
ascertained by the levelling instrument. 

The o-eneral conclusion was drawn that the method with wooden 
rods was unsurpassed, and was none too good, for lands of suliicient 
value to warrant its use ; but the experience of others was requested 
on this or rival methods. 

Mr. Rice spoke of some very satisfactory measurements obtained 
by him in the use of the Grumman Chain. This, though not an in- 
strument of absolute precision, was, he thought, the closest approxi- 
mate to it that was portable and capable of every-day use. 

President Doane described the method adopted by him in running 
the line of the Hoosac Tunnel, and measuring its length over the 
mountain. 

lAcljourned.'} 

S. E. TIKKHAM, Secretary. 



BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



Note. — This Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and 
opinions advanced in any of its publications. 



I 



I 



(KECOKD OF KEGULAR MEETING, MAY, 1881.) 

TVesleyan Hall, Boston, May 18, 1881, 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. L. Frederick Rice in the chair, and sixteen 
members present (Blodgett, Bowditch, Brooks, Carson, Clarke, T. W. 
Davis, A. VV. Forbes, Freeman, Howe, Howland, Miner, Noyes, 
Sampson, Tinkham, C. Whitaker, W. Whittaker). 

The record of the last meeting was read and approved. 

On motion of Mr. Bowditch, Mr. E. K. Turner was elected a mem- 
ber of the Committee on the Preservation of Timber. 

Mr. David H. Andrews was elected a member of the Society, and 
Mr. J. H. Danforth was proposed for membership by Messrs. Thomas 
Doane and F. W. D. Holbrook. 

Mr. E. W. Bowditch gave a description of the sanitary condition of 
public buildings in several of the larger cities of this State, which he 
had examined recently. He also explained the crowded and unhealthy 
condition of some of the tenement-house districts of Lowell, which 
had come under his notice while prosecuting other investigations. He 
briefly alluded to the drainage and systems of sewerage found in certain 
large hotels on the North Atlantic Coast. 

Mr. H. A. Carson reported from " Annales des Fonts et Chaussees " 
articles of interest for the current year. 

Mr. E. C. Clarke called the attention of members to a very valuable 
series of engineering works recently placed in the Public Library, 
entitled " Professional Papers on Indian Engineering." 

[Adjourned.'] 

S. E. TINKHAM, Secretary. 



140 



(EECORD OF REGULAR MEETING, JUNE, 1881.) 

Wesleyan Hall, Bostoist, June 15, 1881. 

A regular meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers was 
held this evening, Mr. Wm. H. Bradley in the chair, and ten mem- 
bers present (Blodgett, Folsom, Howe, Rowland, McClintock, Miner, 
L. F. Rice, Sampson, Watson, W. Whittaker). 

The reading of the record of the last meeting was dispensed with, 
and in the absence of the Secretary, Mr. E. W, Howe was chosen Sec- 
retary pro tern. 

Mr. J. H. Danforth was elected a member of the Society, and Mr. 
George G. Saville was proposed for membership by Messrs. G. W. 
Blodgett and Walter Shepard. 

Mr. William Whittaker gave an account of the various methods of 
sheeting and bracing sewer trenches, from which the following is an 
abstract: — 

SHEETING AND BRACING SEViTER TRENCHES. 

It may be interesting to some of the members who have not had 
practical experience in bracing different kinds of trenches, to know 
how this kind of work is done. 

The simplest kind of bracing is that known as stay bracing, which 
"consists of two planks placed vertically on opposite sides of the trench, 
and held in position by horizontal braces. The distance between the 
pairs of planks, and the number of braces to each, depends of course 
upon the nature of the ground and the depth of the trench. This 
kind of bracing can be used in good ground, — not loose material, but 
such as will stand almost alone. 

In Fig. 1 is shown what is termed boxing, or horizontal bracing. 
Here the planks are placed horizontally, with vertical rangers separated 
by the braces. This is applicable where the ground is able to stand 
for three or four feet without caving ; but in running sand or loose 
material it is neither so practical nor safe as some other kinds. It is 
also YBTj difficult to take out this kind of bracing in bad ground, and 
it frequently happens that it costs more to remove the planks, braces, 
etc., than they are worth. 

Fig. 2 shows what is termed poling-board bracing. Almost any 
kind of planks or boards may be used, from one to four inches thick, 
six to twelve inches wide, and three to four feet long. The poling- 
boards are set vertical, with horizontal rangers placed midway between 
the top and bottom of the boards and braced as shown. This is the 
common mode of sheeting or bracing in England. The writer thinks 
this plan is more applicable than boxing, and can be clone cheaper. 



141 



SHEETING AND BRACING OF SEWER TRENCHES, 



nc, a. 





ric.2. 



rict. A-. 




U2 

It is easier taken out as the trench is back-filled, lighter to handle, and 
does not take so long" to set up. Where vertical rangers are used, it is 
difficult to remore one or two planks at a time while back-filling is 
taking place; but in the case of poling-board bracing, when a set of 
braces is removed, the corresponding poling-board can be easily taken 
out. 

In very bad ground, such as running sand, the writer thinks there 
is no kind of sheeting that answers the purpose so well as the vertical 
sheeting or bracing shown in Fig. 3. Here the planks, generally two 
inches thick, are placed vertically, and their feet chamfered on the 
inside, and their heads trimmed to admit of a sheeting cap, so they can 
be driven with a maul without battering their heads. In England they 
are sometimes hooped with iron. The caps in this country are gen- 
erally made of cast iron ; some of wrought iron, however, used in this 
city, have 'worked very satisfactorily, being lighter and more easily 
handled. In setting up this kind of bracing, the vertical planks are 
put in first at the points where the braces are to go; then the rangers 
are placed in position and held by iron dogs or temporary braces; and 
after filling in solid behind the planks with earth, the strong braces 
may be inserted, and this part is then ready for driving. When the 
planks are driven low enough for another set of rangers, they may be 
put in without the aid of temporary braces, as the planks are firm 
enough to keep in position. This kind of sheeting has many advan- 
tages over the other kinds mentioned. If it is desired to fill in around 
certain portions of the work, such as arches, inverts, etc., the sheeting 
can be drawn up a little at a time and still keep everything firm; and 
also, when water pipes, other sewers, buildings, etc., are met, the 
sheeting can be drawn to suit the work. 

It is very difficult, in some cases, to determine beforehand what 
sizes of timber to use, especially for the rangers and braces. The 
writer was one of the foremen upon the trench described in Mr. 
Clarke's paper* read before the Society, where so many eight-inch by 
eight-inch braces failed in an eighteen-foot length of trench. In this 
case the earth was so unstable and variable that the character and 
size of the bracing were necessarily often changed. Mr. Carson tried 
in this trench What was to the writer a new kind of bracing, never 
having seen it before, either in America or England. It consisted of 
planks placed horizontally, as shown in Fig. 4, each one being braced 
as it was put in with a three-inch plank. These braces had blocks of 
wood (any waste pieces) filled in between them, making, as it were, 
one brace from top to bottom of the trench. This trench, which in 
the writer's opinion would have failed in three days with ordinary 
bracing, stood for two weeks, and at the end of that time showed no 

* See page 41 of Proceedings. 



143 



signs of failure, but looked as strong as when put in. This trench 
was not in quicksand, but in a very unstable mixture of gravel and 
marsh mud. 

It frequently happens in trenches in bad ground that the sheeting 
on one side will settle more than on the other. If it is a narrow 
trench, diagonals can be easily put in from the top of a ranger on one 
side to the under side of the next one- above it on the opposite side, 
and so on. In wide trenches, however, it is necessary either to run 
the diagonals to every other line of rangers, or truss between the 
braces. 

Many times the writer has found that the sheeting could not be 
driven down any farther by hand power when only a foot or two 
remained to be driven; it had become timber-bound either from the 
pressure of the bulkhead or some other cause. He has then generally 
found it cheaper to put in a set of poling-boards, as shown in Fig. 2. 

The writer thinks there is need of some kind of a light machine for 
driving sheeting, — something that is cheap and can be easily moved. 
In a bad trench there is frequently much trouble because the planks 
cannot be driven quick enough, — the material comes in under the 
plank as fast as you can dig it out. Some machine like a steam drill, 
it seems to the writer, might be used. A light drop-hammer was used 
on the Back Bay Park and on Section 4^ of the Improved Sewerage, 
which seemed to work well. The guides for the hammer were welded 
to a wrought-iron sheeting cap, and the hammer was raised by two 
men using a rope passing over a pulley suspended above. Planks 
were driven by this simple machine which could not be started with 
the ordinary mauls. 

The writer was in England about four years ago, and saw the new 
dock works at North Woolwich. Here each plank had a hard-wood ' 
wedge between it and the ranger, and at the points where the braces 
were placed a 12"xl2" pile was driven below everything, so that the 
braces and rangers would not go down on each side. These piles were 
also used to support a track for removing the material. 

In ordinary trenches, from thirteen to sixteen feet deep, the writer 
has found the cost of bracino; to be as follows : — 



Placing the planks, three sets of rangers and braces, 

per foot run 

Driving the sheeting 

Pulling the planks . . ' 

Loss on planks 

Total per foot run 



15 to 20 cents. 
15 to 20 " 
15 to 20 *' 
5 to 10 " 

50 to 70 cents. 



If the trench is over sixteen feet, say from twenty to thirty feet, 
requiring two sets of sheeting, the cost will be more than double the 



144 



above amount. It is to be understood that these prices are for bad 
trenches in running sand, and braced as shown in Fig. 3. 

The following prices may be considered a fair average for ordniary 
trenches of from twenty to thirty feet deep, in running sand, etc.: — 



Placing planks, braces, etc. 
Driving sheeting 
Pulling planks . 
Loss on planks, etc. . 

Total per foot run . 



SO 75 
50 

75 
25 



S2 25 



One great trouble the writer has found in bad ground is, that as a 
rule tooVeat a length of trench is opened at a time. The shorter a 
trench can be worked, the better it is. By opening a greater length in 
the same water-bearing strata, you only increase the amount of bad 
bottom to look out for. 

There is always considerable trouble with the bulkhead part ot a 
section. When the trench is in good material it can generally be dis- 
pensed with, but in bad ground it is impossible to do without it. 
There is one way considerable saving can be made in the pressure 
ao-ainst a bulkhead, and that is by digging down two or three different 
sections at a time. The writer has found in bad trenches it is gener- 
ally cheaper in the end to build a good bulkhead and keep the work 

close up. . T . 

In putting in second sheeting, a packing is placed behmd the planks, 
generally a'' sheeting plank, and another in front the distance from 
the packing equal to the thickness of the sheeting. The sheeting can 
then be put in as at first, with this difference, that it is necessary to 
notch out for the braces belonging to the set of sheeting already driven. 
If the ground is pretty good the lower braces ^an be dispensed with, 
leaving^n the rangers, and set the other ranger for the inside of the 
second sheeting with a plank at each brace, or block in between them 
with wedges, which can be taken out as the sheeting planks come 
to them. ° This will make considerable difference with the notched 
planks, which are always a source of trouble. 

In the sheeting and bracing of trenches, the well or sump forms a 
very important part of the work. One properly sunk makes consid- 
erable saving in the amount of pumping, but many are of little value 
on account of not being properly braced, or for want of care in start- 
ing the sheeting. 

lAcljourned.} ^_ ^_ ^^^-^^ 

Secretary pro tern.. 



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